Purpose of a Hero
by Buixy
Summary: PoaH: Part 1 - Embers. While Japan has U.A., North America has the United States Academy for Enhanced Individuals, or U.S.A.E.I, an elite school and considered by most to be second in terms of prestige and has pumped out a majority of North America's Top-Ranked Heroes. With every new school year comes a new batch of students that represents the future. SYOC OPEN
1. Prologue: Legacy

**Hey dudes and dudettes, I'm here today to bring you the start of a, hopefully long, story following the My Hero Academia timeline, for the most part. This story is kind of a companion story to MHA in that it takes place in the U.S. and happens around the time that U.A.'s fall term starts (Around the time of the Yakuza Arc).**

 **Since MHA doesn't give us a concrete timeline in terms of years, I've placed it around 297 years into the future. Going off of their being nine users of One for All and that the scientific amount of years that pass in a generation is anywhere from 27-33, so I went with the high end. I also placed the year of birth for the glowing baby in 2020. So 33x9=297, 297+2020=2317. So MHA, in my story, takes place starting in the year 2317.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE**

 **All Information pertaining to OC submissions is located on the bottom of this chapter.**

 **If you have any questions, concerns, or criticisms either shoot me a PM or leave it in a review. I hope you guys enjoy!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

As the sun was taking its final descent below the distant horizon, two figures emerged from a small wooden house, located on the side of a cliff, their faces shrouded in shadow. One of the figures was significantly taller than the other and led the smaller by hand. They walked hand-in-hand until they reached the very edge of the bluff, just in front of a hundred foot drop into the crashing brine below. For a moment the pair of silhouettes stood in silence, simply staring into the sunset. After a while, the sun's final light finally disappeared and stars popped into existence in the dark blue night sky. The smaller figure turned its head upwards and spoke, its voice high-pitched and childish. "What are we doing out so late mother? Isn't it time to train?" The larger figure tilted her head upwards and smiled lightly, her lip's outline barely visible in the dusk.

"I had something I wanted to show you, my sunshine," She whispered, her tone distinctly feminine, soft, and whimsical. The figure knelt down and placed her hand on the child's shoulder, pointing to the star-filled sky above them. "Look."

"Whoa!" The child's wonder was clear it their tone as they looked up. The swirly of galaxies, shining constellations, and a large, full moon shone brightly in the child's eyes. "How many are there?"

"More than we have numbers to count." The child seemed even more amazed at this as they hummed and proceeded to count out loud, causing their mother to laugh lightly. Her smile then fell slightly and a more pensive look overtook her expression. "Many of these stars have already lost their light."

"What does that mean, mother?" The child asked, his tone head tilted slightly in confusion.

"It means that many of these stars have gone out, or died. What we see is just their after image, their legacy." This answer stumped the child, as they became silent.

"The stars can die, too? Just like us?"

"Of course. All things die. Though, I suppose not every star's light is appreciated," she replied in a mournful tone. "We are no different. In order for our light, our legacy to be remembered, we must shine brighter than anyone else, my sunshine. Never forget, you...are _my_ legacy."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Eleven Years Later**

 **April 27, 2317**

Melody Halloway's eyes glazed over again and her mind began to wander. This tended to happen when she was stuck in a particularly boring class with a particularly boring teacher. Said teacher, a wizened old man named Boris Kharlamov, droned on from the front of the classroom. While usually, the red-haired girl paid apt attention to her lessons – she had a lot to live up to, after all – the glum, dreary day outside, mixed with the deep, monotone voice with which Mr. Kharlamov usually did his lectures on United States history, had her slipping in and out of daydreams. As the elderly man continued speaking he turned towards the whiteboard and wrote 'The United States Quirk Registry Act' in large, bold red letters. She again tried her best to stay attentive to the old man's teachings, but in no time at all, she was looking down at the page of her notebook she'd designated for this class, unsurprisingly devoid of any notes whatsoever, and started doodling a myriad of different things. Ghosts, food, ideas for a hero costume, and even a rather detailed sketch of her dull teacher. This continued for a while until the sound of someone clearing their throat caused her to perk up and smile sheepishly at the withering glare of Mr. Kharlamov. "Ms. Halloway, do you plan on joining us today? Or are you in the process of pursuing an art career?"

"Ah...no, sir. Sorry," Melody murmured and flipped to the next page in her notebook, only to find that it had as well been covered with drawings at some point.

"Well then, could you please tell me what caused the passing of the Quirk Registry Act?" Kharlamov asked. Melody fought the urge to grimace as she wracked her memory.

"Um...the Charleston Incident, right?" She said unsurely. The teacher stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and turning his back to the class. He wrote out 'Charleston Incident' on the whiteboard and continued his lecture, his back still turned. Melody sighed in relief, only for something to smack into the right side of her face. The small ball of crumpled paper fell onto her desk and she reached forward to, as silently as possible, uncrumple it.

 _Stop daydreamin' ya dunce_

 _-N_

Melody rolled her eyes and sent a glare at the blond-haired boy sitting across from her, who shot her a quick grin and pointed towards the front of the room. The redhead faced forward just in time as Kharlamov turned to face them again. "Alright class, now then who can tell me the name of the villain responsible for the Charleston Incident?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The class continued on as normal for the rest of the day, with Melody only drifting off a few more times, including an instance in her literature class that got her another scolding. After that, she tried even harder to stay focused. Near the end of her fifth class, however, she and the rest of her classmates were told that their last period of the day would be somewhat different. While this class period was usually designated for each student's chosen elective, they instead were directed back to their homeroom class, which meant returning to see her favorite mundane teacher. As she re-entered Mr. Kharlamov's room she immediately locked onto the same blond boy from earlier standing over her desk, working furiously on something. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she walked up behind him to peek over his shoulder. There, on the desk, was a small drawing of a cartoonized of her sleeping, with a large snot bubble emerging from her nose.

"Really, Nathan?" She spoke up suddenly, making the boy leap up in shock, which caused the thin blond tail emerging from the back of his pants to stiffen and the hair covering it to stand on end. She grinned slightly at his reaction before shoving him to the side and sliding into the newly vandalized desk. It didn't take long for the blond to recover, though, and almost instantly he was sitting in the seat across from her grinning like he didn't have a care in the world.

"Hiya, Mel! Haven't been sleeping through all your classes have you?" Nathan inquired, a cheeky grin on his face. Melody didn't get to answer, however, as at that moment Boris Kharlamov walked into the room with a large stack of folders clutched in his withered hands.

"Sit down, sit down," he commanded. Those not already sitting in their seats quickly remedied that and the classroom fell silent. Satisfied with their response time, Mr. Kharlamov began speaking, handing the stack to a student in the front row as he did so. "Now, what I'm passing you all now is the results of the forms you filled out last month before reviews for the final exams commenced. Within these forms, you will find out if the school you applied to has accepted your application." This got the entire class's attention and the pile of papers was passed around the room even faster as each student wanted to see if they'd gotten into the school they'd wanted. In her seat, Melody broke out into a cold sweat as she remembered her own form.

" _Hey Mel, are you really only putting one school? What if you don't get accepted?"_ Nathan had asked after he'd ripped the form out of her hands.

" _The only school I'll settle for is the best! If I don't get accepted, then...well I guess I'll figure something out."_ Looking back on it, Melody felt incredibly stupid about her choice. There had been ten different slots for the students to fill out and she was the only one in class to write down just one, probably the only middle school student stupid enough to do so. ' _I am so screwed,'_ she thought forlornly. Eventually, the pile of papers made their way to Nathan, which made her heart sink as it came closer and closer to her, and he whooped happily after seeing the crest imprinted on the top of his form. "U.S.A.E.I Here I come!"

"You made it!?" Melody nearly screamed as their fellow classmates all turned to look at the tailed blond with wide eyes. The United States Academy for Enhanced Individuals, U.S.A.E.I or 'The Forge' for short, was the most prestigious hero training school in the United States, and one of the best worldwide. It was the only school the red-haired girl had written on her application sheet. She and Nathan had talked about attending since their Quirks had developed, and it seemed her friend made that dream his reality. She could only hope for the same result. ' _As happy as I am for Nathan, I still won't be happy if I don't make it. Does that make me a bad friend? No, I can't afford to think like this! If I don't make it all I'm doing is sullying my mother's name.'_

So lost in her thoughts was she, that Melody didn't even notice when the student behind her growled through his dog-like maw and slammed the stack of papers, slightly smaller than it had been, down on her head. "Ow! You jerk, Jared!" She stuck her tongue out at the boy, her fear momentarily dissipated, and grabbed the pile, snagging the manila envelope with her name on it, and passed it forward to the girl with green skin in front of her. Her temporary distraction gone, the girl stared in dismay at the offending paper lying on the desk in front of her. With careful, shaking fingers she picked it up and popped the top open, turning it upside down and watching as an official-looking sheet of white paper halfway out of the container into her awaiting palm. It took a bit for her to gather her courage, but when she did she nearly ripped the paper by grabbing and flipping it over. She bit her lip as she read the neatly printed font.

 _Dear Ms. Halloway_

 _We have received your application, along with its accompanying paperwork, and have reviewed all your material. While several of your former and current teachers have noted a short attention span, your grades are impressive, as are your physical results. In addition, our board of governors has decided that your Quirk is both laudable and has potential. All of this in mind it is my pleasure to inform you we have accepted your application and hope to see you for the entrance exam on July 23. Please review the details listed below and come prepared to fight for your right to attend the United States School for Enhanced Individuals._

 _Principle Igor Fetisov_

Melody imagined most people felt absolutely ecstatic about something this big, Nathan was a prime example of this, but she was of a different mindset after reading her letter. A massive wave of relief washed over her and the tension in her muscles immediately faded. She smiled down at the paper and raised her hand towards the tailed boys sitting across from her, who obliged her high-five with gusto. Once Mr. Kharlamov announced it, with no little amount of shock himself, the class broke into a dull roar of excitement. No one from their middle school had been accepted to U.S.A.E.I in almost forty-five years, and now they had two. Melody spent the rest of her school day being randomly patted on the back, congratulated, or, in several instances, someone threw an insult at her.

By the time the final bell rang, the redhead was exhausted...and it was still raining, much to her chagrin. As she unfurled her umbrella and embarked on the long trek home, she smiled. "All that's left is the entrance exam. The sheet said it had three parts. The written is going to be murder, but I can handle the physical easily," she mumbled to herself. While it may have seemed presumptuous of her, but ever since she was ten and expressed the desire to become a hero, her father had trained her mercilessly. She usually had two hours of intense workout before and after school, with any free time she had devoted to her studies or helping her father out in the restaurant. "The Quirk test is the really hard part. I'd bet they're gonna try and make us do something to show we can handle the strain of it or something like that."

"You're thinking too hard, Mel." The sudden sound of another voice brought Melody out of her musings with a jolt. She didn't even notice Nathan's approach. The tailed boy grinned at her and folded his arms behind his head. "Doesn't matter what they throw at us, we _are_ getting into U.S.A.E.I. Without a doubt."

"I wouldn't get too cocky. You do know this school has the lowest acceptance rate of any hero program in the country. We'll have to face people from all over North America in order to get in. Not just that either, we have to excel against them," Melody grumbled with a roll of her eyes. Her explanation visibly deflated the boy a bit, but he bounced back quickly.

"You need to loosen up, I haven't seen you being this uptight in a while. Usually, you'd be right there with me shouting our superiority to the skies. You alright?" He asked, holding the back of his hand to her forehead. She gave him a deadpan look and brushed his hand away.

"I'm just worried. This is the first step towards our dream."

"And if we pass the test? You gonna worry about the second step as well?" Nathan probed. At this, Melody just smiled, which caused the boy's eyebrow to raise questioningly.

"Of course not. There is no second step, once we pass the exam we start at step one again." The tailed boy gave her a disbelieving look before letting out a bark of laughter.

"You are an absolutely terrible philosopher. Stick to the hero job, eh?" He teased, receiving a shove in response. The two continued walking through the crowded Brooklyn streets for several minutes in silence before Nathan hummed and held a hand to cup his chin. "The exam is on the twenty-third, right? That only gives us three months to prepare. We need to ramp up our training to insane levels. Did you still want to go to the mall on Saturday? We'd be losing valuable training time."

"Yeah, we'll be training all week after school. Sure we have to up our training, but that doesn't mean we work ourselves to death. Breaks are just as important physically as they are mentally," Melody explained, her voice taking on that of a teacher, which caused Nathan to snort and roll his eyes.

"You're just saying that because you want to be lazy. Slacker!" Eventually, the two friends stopped walking when they arrived at a small storefront with ripped letters spelling 'Halloway Pizzeria' on the red and white awning. "See ya tomorrow for training, Mel!" The tailed boy yelled as she started walking past the small restaurant. After she bid him farewell, Melody glanced up at the two-story building and sighed. ' _My shift doesn't start for another hour. Suppose I should make dinner if I don't want dad's crappy food. How this place stays in business is beyond me,'_ she thought to herself. When she pushed open the front entrance to the pizzeria she was greeted by the tinkle of a small bell above the door, the din of the restaurants twenty or so customers each going about their business, and the loud, rough voice of her father yelling in the back. ' _At least he hasn't started swearing yet. 'Poor Anthony just started dad, be more patient.'_ As quickly and quietly as she could, Melody walked towards the kitchen and inched open the door. Peering around she saw her father, an absolute mountain of a man with a head of wiry red hair similar to her own, standing in front of a young man with black hair, which stuck up like needles, screaming in his ear.

"I SAID EVEN! DOES THAT DOUGH LOOK EVEN TO YOU?" Carlyle Halloway roared. Upon closer inspection, Melody spotted a large circle of black needles surrounding their feet. ' _Anthony's spines fall off when he's nervous. By the look of it, he's been dealing with dad for nearly twenty minutes. Crap, I feel bad, but I also don't wanna deal with the geezer before I get something in my stomach that isn't greasy.'_ Deciding to leave Anthony to his own devices, Melody tried to stay in her father's blind spot as she made her way to the stairs leading to the second-floor apartment she shared with the man. Unfortunately, her sigh of relief at reaching her destination unseen turned into a yelp of surprise when the door opened and a large, clearly plastic spider to drop out of it. "DON'T TRY AND SNEAK UPSTAIRS YET, OH DAUGHTER OF MINE!" The middle-aged man cried dramatically as he ran, or rather leaped, over to her.

"Oh...hey dad...didn't, uh, didn't see you there," Melody lied, her eye twitching in annoyance at his improvised 'Melody Alarm'. Carlyle grinned widely and slung an arm over the girl's shoulders.

"So, I heard from a reliable source of mine," Her father said proudly. ' _If by reliable, you mean your drinking buddy the principle, then sure,'_ she guessed, trying to shrug off his beefy arm. "You got back your applications today. And you tried to sneak away without telling me the results. You would really leave your own papa in the dark?"

"Don't be so dramatic, dad. I would have told you later, it's just that...I wanted some relaxation before my shift," she said sheepishly.

"Well?"

"Oh! The entrance exam is at the end of July." Realization dawned on her father's face and he let out a loud, laughing cheer, wrapping both of his meaty arms around the skinny girl. She turned to yell at him to let her go but stopped at the sight of the tear tracks running down his face.

"My little girl, going to the academy!" He sobbed. When he finally did release her he ran over to the small window separating the kitchen from the dining area and yelled out to all occupying the small restaurant. "A ROUND OF DRINKS ON THE HOUSE FOR MY DAUGHTER MAKING IT INTO U.S.A.E.I! Nothing imported!" While many of the patrons simply stared at him in shock, a few jumped out of their seats and cheered along with him. Still crying, Carlyle went back over to Melody and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, despite her protests. "Time for a victory dinner!"

"I can walk by myself dad!"

"Take over the shop, Anthony!" He called, again completely ignoring his angry daughter.

"Wh-what!? But Mr. Halloway!" The teen yelled as his boss disappeared into the second-floor apartment, slamming the door behind him. He sighed and turned back to stare at the poorly rolled dough before him, then at another, perfectly made, pizza that Carlyle used as an example. His head swiveled from side to side as he checked to see if the coast was clear. Having seen no one, the teen walked up and poked one of his fingers onto the crust, which caused a bright flash of light that swiftly died down to reveal not one, but six pizzas, all identical.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Carlyle sat on a small, green sofa mock glaring at his daughter, who'd freed herself with a well-timed kidney punch. "That was very unnecessary, Melly!" He grumbled.

"Karma, old man!" Melody shouted, sticking her head out of the kitchen.

"I'm only forty-two! That's not old!" Away from her father's pouting, Melody smiled fondly. A little while later, the father and daughter sat in front of their small television, which had a crack in its face from when her father's football team lost, eating a simple serving of spaghetti that Melody had whipped up. Following an initial argument over what to watch, they settled on a show called _Heroes through History_ , much to the middle-aged man's chagrin.

"Grow up, dad. You can watch your reality shows some other time. Besides...this is the one with mom," Melody said, her voice dropping slightly near the end. Carlyle gave her a sad look but as he opened his mouth to comfort her, the show's host began to speak.

" _Harmony Kristenson, alias; The Crying Hero: Teardrop. With her weaponized tears, Teardrop was a shining beacon of hope for many people. At her peak she was ranked number three overall in the North American Hero Popularity charts and on more than one occasion she risked her life to help save others from devastating disasters._

 _Unfortunately, Teardrop was yet another example of the dark side of heroism. During a battle against the Magma Villain: Miss Vesuvius, Teardrop sacrificed herself to save a small family from the villain's Lava based-attack. At only thirty-two years old, the world was robbed of a masterful hero far too soon. During her time at 'The Forge', she distinguished herself as an exemplary hero-in-training, graduating as her year's valedictorian. After school, she was accepted into the agency of the then fifth-ranked hero, Oddball, who himself was only twenty-five at the time. She worked with him for three years before she finally broke into the top fifty in the Hero Popularity Index. She struck out on her own following this and worked solo for another two years until she finally took on a sidekick. Unbeknownst to her, taking on this sidekick would be her undoing. Miss Vesuvius, a freshly graduated hero with the ability to generate magma from her pores, would work under Teardrop for nine years._

 _Not long after her thirty-second birthday, the hero world was robbed of one of its greatest heroes when Teardrop was betrayed by her first sidekick. It happened in March of the year 2,306, when Teardrop's New York agency exploded in the early morning hours, resulting in the deaths of six of Teardrop's ten total sidekicks. It soon became apparent that the Crying Hero was battling against her own student. The battle lasted only forty-five minutes, but the devastation was immense. Three city blocks completely destroyed by magma, over two billion dollars in damages, but thanks to the sacrifice of Teardrop and two more of her sidekicks, Reflector and Beast, not a single civilian life was lost. Harmony left behind her husband and this day, Miss Vesuvius has evaded capture for several years, but later resurfaced with a group of Supervillains to kickstart the Battle of Las Vegas. Despite the best efforts of many great Heroes, she once again escaped and is still on the run to this day._

 _She is known to have had at least one child with her fellow sidekick, Reflector, but this child's whereabouts are currently unknown. If you have any information concerning the location of this dangerous villain, please contact your local police office._

Melody and Carlyle sat in silence as the program played. Even after the report on Teardrop ended the two said nothing as _Heroes Through History_ transitioned into the nightly news. Finally, Carlyle beamed at his daughter. "She would be so proud of you. You've wanted to be a hero since you were no more than two, you know? Always running around the house with one of our good towels tied around your neck. You'd always get me to play the villain."

"Because momma's too nice," Melody said, echoing her three-year-old self. Her father nodded and, the regretful look disappearing from his face jumped to a standing position. As soon as she saw the malicious grin, the teen sat up as straight as a tree. "No, no, absolutely not!"

"TIME FOR SOME MIDNIGHT TRAINING!"

"What about the shop?"

"ANTHONY CAN HANDLE IT! NOW LET'S GO, MELLY DEAR!" Carlyle bellowed, grabbing a hold of his daughter and yanking her off of the couch before sprinting towards a window on the far side of the room.

"DAD NO!" Melody cried just before the pair crashed through the window onto the rather large balcony just off the back of their apartment, a balcony that had a fully functioning door not five feet away from the window her father chose to bust through.

 _PURPOSE OF A HERO_

 **Well...what'd ya think? Learned a bit this chapter, about Melody, her parents, her friend, and her school life. Next chapter we will learn more about Melody's training, social life and pastimes, and the reveal of her Quirk. Chapter Two will be posted a week from today (tentatively, as my 21st birthday is that Sunday and I might not get much work done).**

 **OC SUBMISSIONS**

 **First Off, I didn't say this in the initial submissions section, but I am allowing people to submit multiple OCs, while all of them might not make it in it does help me tremendously with filling up the world.**

 **Second, if you submit a classmate AFTER both of the hero course classes are full, that submission will either be aged up a bit to become a Pro Hero, or may be included later as a cameo from another school (Most likely the former)**

 **Third, if you plan to include siblings/parents that you want to have a large impact on the character and the story as a whole, be sure to include a submission for them as well. Minor characters just need names, Quirks, appearances, and personalities.**

 **Pro Hero and Villain submissions will be open throughout the entirety of the story as I will always need both major and minor characters to fill out the world around the students.**

 ***HEYO, Future Buixy here. Just came back to say that submissions for Pro Heroes and Villains are still open (I kinda need these for how long this story is gonna be) so if you just stumbled on this story, don't hesitate to send in a full character, a character concept, or even just a Quirk you find interesting. Anyway, Future Buixy out!**

 **OC SUBMISSIONS**

 **THROUGH PM OR EMAIL PREFERRED!**

 **Alrighty then. When I was first planning this story, I actually made two full classes as well as teachers each with their own Quirks and personalities, but then I figured it'd be more fun to give the readers some stake in the story. I am currently looking for Students, Teachers, Pro Heroes, and minor villains. Anything too overpowered will be considered, but most likely not included in the story. Below is a basic list of information you must include, but if you want to go the extra mile and increase chances of having your character brought to life in the way you want, contact me through my email address -Buixy97 at Gmail . com- for a more detailed character sheet. Anyway, here ya go!**

 **Character Name:**

 **Hero/Villain Name:**

 **Quirk:**

 **Age:**

 **Appearance:**

 **Costume:**

 **Personality:**

 **Motivations:**

 **Bio:**

 **REMEMBER Quirks are not all-powerful. They have limits.**

 **That's all I can think of atm, but if you want to add anything just go right ahe** ad.


	2. Chapter 1: Melody Halloway-Origins

**Hiya again dudes and dudettes. I know I said I'd wait a week to post this chapter, but I got hit with the writing bug and finished it a few days early. I figured I could just wait until next Tuesday buuuut consider this a reward for all the support I've gotten so far. You guys are making this seriously easy to write with the support.**

 **Alright, time to start the chapter! Hope you all enjoy the first official chapter of The Purpose of a Hero! (** _The last one was a prologue if you didn't catch that)_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

On the best of nights, the streets of New York were more dangerous than any other city in the entirety of North America, let alone the United States. With dealers selling their illegal wares, muggers waiting for unwary prey, or the truly evil slinking out of their holes to plan evil deeds, the back alleys were some of the most treacherous places for even the most seasoned Hero to venture. Unfortunately for the Professional Hero known as Zorra, she appeared to have forgotten this one fateful late-spring evening when she decided to patrol one of these alleyways all by her lonesome. Her routine patrol, which had been very quiet, went bad in an instant, she only caught a glimpse of the golden-haired man dressed all in red opening his mouth before a wave of searing hot pain shot through her and she fell to the cold, damp asphalt. She nearly passed out right then and there, but fought harder to not only stay awake, but stand up as the man's footsteps neared her. She managed to lift herself up using just her arms and glared at him with her pale blue eyes. He knelt down and grabbed her roughly by the roots of her dark brown hair, jerking her head up to look into his bright gray eyes. "Well...this is certainly a dilema, isn't it? You've stumbled into a very bad situation _Hero_ ," he spoke, his voice becoming venomous when he uttered the word 'Hero'.

"Wh-who are you? Wh-why?" Isobel Monroe just barely managed to croak out. The man, who appeared to be only in his late teens as he leaned closer to her, grinned maliciously.

"Always the same questions, eh? Who are you? Why are you doing this? That's all a bit dull don't you think, _Hero_?" The Professional Hero stared at him in shock as she got a closer glance at his smile, which, to her horror, had small black flames leaking from the spaces between his pearly white teeth. "Sorry about this, I don't really enjoy killing needlessly but you've caught me at a bad time. I've got places to be, people to meet with, and evil plans to, well...plan. I'll give you a moment to pray to whatever deity you think will listen."

"P-please! Y-you can't do this!"

"Actually I can. Funny how that works, hm? If it makes you feel any better I am sorry, just bad luck on your part. Coming into this particular alley? What are the odds? Fate is quite the vindictive bitch, eh?" He lamented, with a quiet chuckle before opening his mouth wide. Zorra's screams echoed into the night as a raging inferno of black flames consumed her. It wasn't even ten minutes later when a group of police officers and other Pros arrived on the horrific scene, while just three blocks away, the man dressed in red frowned and picked off a bit of dead, burnt skin from the side of his mouth, then stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. "Now, where was the meeting again? Plague's gonna kill me if I'm late."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **June 16, 2317**

Melody Halloway stretched her arms into the air above her head as she sat up in a small twin bed. The early morning sun streamed in through the half closed blinds and she could already hear the din of traffic, voices, and the clattering of cutlery that usually permeated the air of her apartment. From the small restaurant below came the booming voice of her father, Carlyle, and while she couldn't discern any of the words he was shouting, she assumed her was yelling at his poor new hire, a boy in his late teens named Anthony. Once she got up and drank an entire mug of black coffee, she'd long ago become accustomed to the taste, she began going about her usual morning routine. She dressed in a plain red t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of worn down black sneakers, brushed her shoulder length red hair, and then her teeth. All in all it took her less than ten minutes to get ready and soon enough she was sitting down on the living room couch with a bowl of colorful, sugary cereal. Most mornings this would be the start of the intense training regimen that her father had laid out for her months prior, just the thought of it had her wincing and subconsciously rubbing her bruised left calf. However, as today was the second Saturday of the month, she had the whole day to herself. The red-headed teen sighed in relief as she leaned further into the couch and folded her legs beneath her. "I live for these moments." She then began digging into her meager breakfast with gusto, turning on the television and flipping to the local news between bites. What she saw however, made her appetite disappear and her blood run cold.

" _Late last night, the Fencing Hero: Zorra was found murdered in Hell's Kitchen. While there is currently no suspect in the crime, police have confirmed that an incredibly powerful fire-based Quirk is most likely to blame._ _Zorra, real name Isobel Monroe, has been a Pro Hero a little over a year and was a beloved member of the Aces High Hero Agency, run by the number two ranked Hero Oddball. While Oddball could not be reached for comment, his representative has told us he is mortified by the loss and is currently out hunting down the killer. This is Diane Simonds of News Six Brooklyn, now over to Tom with the weather."_

"Jesus," Melody muttered, her half-eaten bowl placed onto the small wooden coffee table in front of her and glaring at it. Suddenly her cell phone began to ring, causing her to jump into the air as her concentration was snapped. On the phone's glass display was a picture of Nathan and Melody standing in the doorway of a house, each a few years younger, dressed up in costumes, with her dressed as a poor representation of the Jubilant Hero: Comic, and him dressed in an even worse All-Might suit, the hood's attached hair pieces were flopped down over his pouting face. She quickly picked up the device, hit the 'accept' button, and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"

" _Hiya, Mel. We still going downtown today? I've gotta get the hell out of this house,"_ Nathan's slightly distorted voice said. Melody rolled her eyes at her friend's thinly veiled enthusiasm. ' _His dad is working him just as hard as my old man is training me. At least neither of us will have trouble with the physical exam.'_

"Yeah, meet me here around noon. Gives me like...three hours to be lazy to myself until I have to deal with you for the rest of the day," she answered in a teasing tone.

" _I'm the one always getting bullied by you! You're always going on about something I'm doing wrong!"_ The indignant voice on the other end of the line yelled, making Melody laugh. The two continued their banter for a few more minutes until a feminine voice could be heard yelling at Nathan in the background. " _Damn, that's the hag. Alright, see you at noon. Later!"_

"Bye." After hanging up the teenage girl relished in the quiet for a while, but that ended when the sound of thumping footsteps coming up the stairs broke her out of her reverie.

"GOOOOOOD MORNING, OH DAUGHTER OF MINE!" Carlyle bellowed as he burst through the door with his arms held aloft. However, despite the fact that he had heard his daughter's voice talking to that odd friend of hers, the living room was completely empty. "Hm? That's totally not fair, Melly! No Quirk usage in the house!"

Even though she was currently almost two hundred yards from the back entrance of her father's restaurant, Melody could clearly hear his shouts as if he were standing beside her. ' _He really has no concept of noise control. Ah well, I guess I can head to the deli and then the park before I have to meet Nate.'_ She decided, yawning slightly as she slipped through a loose board in the fence of the abandoned lot that sat behind her apartment.

She quickly joined the throngs of people walking through the crowded streets of Brooklyn and started engaging in one of her favorite pastimes. People watching. She did it nearly everywhere she went and in a city like New York, with such a large population, there was a never-ending flow of unique people. From mostly average looking folk to those with extremely obvious Mutation-type Quirks, each and every person she studied had something different about them. She took her time walking to her favorite deli, the trip lasted about twice the usual seven-minutes, and the trek to a small, usually deserted park, which she had very fond memories of, took another ten. One of her most exciting days as a child had taken place right next to the swing she sat at, eating her ham sandwich.

It happened when she and Nathan were only four years old, just about to enter their first year of kindergarten. The two had been let loose on the park by their parents in the hopes they would blow off some steam ahead of their first classes the following day. As usual, they were playing Heroes vs. Villains with some other kids from the neighborhood, when suddenly Nathan began to cry out in pain and grasp tightly at his bottom. Before their parents could even figure out what was going on, the toddler stopped crying. In an instant, his fear and pain had turned to glee as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the long, slender blond tail protruding from under his pants. ' _The tail was just the start of it all. A few days later Nate's fingernails grew into full-fledged claws and his pupils turned into slits. He was so happy, almost as happy as when he got his letter last semester.'_ She smiled at the memory and took another bite of her second breakfast. The redhead idled around the park, just observing passersby for another two hours. At one point she even saw a few of her acquaintances from middle school. While she'd always been friends with Nathan, she found it hard to connect to others. Sure she had a small posse she hung out with, nearly everyone in her school had at least one clique they could call their own, but none of them she was at all close to. The two girls that had stopped to talk about mundane things eventually left Melody on her own again.

At eleven o'clock she decided to begin making her way towards Nathan's home. "Don't wanna hear him whining about me being late." With that she hopped off of her perch on a rusted jungle gym and left the park, tossing her trash into an overflowing bin as she did. It wouldn't take her very long to reach the Larson household, as it was only a short bus ride away. Luckily, Melody made it to the nearest stop just as the city bus began loading. She swiped her fare card, making a mental note to refill it when she got home, and found an open seat near the back of the bus. Once she got situated and re-checked the stop schedule to make sure she'd gotten on the right bus, her attention was redirected to a news article on her phone, sent to her by one of her former classmates. _Villains on the Rise_ the story was titled.

 _Recently, there has been a massive surge in villain activity not only in the United States, but also around the globe. Many experts have placed the blame on this solely on last month's Hosu Incident in Japan. During this incident the League of Villains (see page seven) alongside the infamous Hero Killer Stain attempted to kill multiple Professional Heroes. While Stain was eventually caught and is currently serving a life sentence, his story has been serving as an inspiration to evildoers and anti-Hero activists alike. Over the past month since the Hosu Incident, the amount of violent crimes inside the continental United States has risen tenfold. Unfortunately, this increase in criminal activity has also resulted in the deaths of over a dozen North American Heroes, including the tenth ranked Hero, Manticore, who was killed in a battle with a powerful villain with a telekinetic Quirk._

"Things are seriously getting bad. I've never seen this much villain activity in such a short time span," Melody muttered to herself. The bus lurched suddenly as a car swerved out in front of it, nearly causing both vehicles to crash. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of vibrant red light...and then everything exploded.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"-ey! Kid you okay? Hey!?" Melody awoke with a start and was immediately assaulted with the sounds of screams, explosions, and the crackling of fire. It took her a moment to get over her shock, but when she did she became aware of two things, the first was the throbbing pain centered in her left arm and the second was the very familiar face, or lack thereof, just two inches from her nose. A 'face' she'd seen on television more times than she could count. Oddball, the United State's number two ranked Hero, whose true face was covered by a large white ball that encompased his whole head.

"Wh-where am I? The bus?" She stammered out, feeling an acrid burn at the back of her throat, which she guessed was from the billowing black smoke. Oddball shook his head and grabbed ahold of her undamaged arm, lifting her back onto unsteady feet. Her first look at the destruction sent a shiver down her spine. A street she would use to walk to middle school every morning for three years was reduced to nothing but rubble and fire. She could see the burnt husk of the city bus not too far away, as well as a few more massacred cars littering the street. Small fires burned in various places, buildings had whole pieces missing, and people stumbled past her with injuries ranging from scratches and minor burns to broken bones and worse. Further down the street the sounds of a raging battle could be heard. "A villain attack? In broad daylight?"

"Hey~! Look at you! Right you are, citizen. Now, I ask that you quickly get the hell out of here, it's...a wee-bit dangerous!" Oddball said in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Melody didn't even have time to answer as a massive explosion sent the both of them wobbling as the ground shook. The Pro Hero quickly righted himself and looked over his shoulder at the location of the battle, then promptly sprinted towards it, leaving behind the shell shocked teen.

"H-hey!" She called out, but he either didn't hear her or simply ignored the shout. For a brief moment she contemplated going after him, but decided she'd be better off helping the fleeing masses. After a quick scan of the area, she focused on a small, crying boy with a twisted leg that was being largely ignored by the other survivors. She ran up to him and knelt down beside him, only to feel her nose break when the kid slammed one of his fists into it. ' _He must have a strength boosting Quirk. No kid should be able to punch like that,'_ she reasoned, holding up her arms in a surrendering fashion. "Hey there, little man. What's your name?" The boy stared at her, eyes filled with fear, for nearly thirty seconds before answering.

"M-Michael," He murmured through gritted teeth, his tiny hands gripping tightly at his twisted leg.

"It's nice to meet you, Michael. My name is Melody, but you can call me Mel, all my friends do. Don't worry, I'm here to help, do you know where your mommy or daddy are?" She asked, her speaking slightly faster than usual as the sounds of battle grew closer. The boy frowned and shook his head before his eyes widened. With no time to spare, Melody heaved the boy into her arms and started running just as a body slammed into the pavement where they'd just been. Looking over her shoulder she was shocked to see the Hero who'd just stood back up. It was Lionheart, a hero from her mother's old agency and Nathan's father. He growled and shook his head, which resulted in his large mane of blond hair waving violently, though it didn't lose it's wild appearance. Upon seeing Melody and the small boy he growled and leapt over to stand in front of them, acting as somewhat of a shield from the battle behind them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Mel? Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" He roared over the raging fight. Melody shook her head and repositioned Michael so that he was hanging onto her more securely.

"No one else was helping him. His leg is broken," she explained quickly. Just then the street shook again and another person went flying by them, appearing to be propelled by a red beam of light, and crashed through a storefront. Lionheart flinched at this, grabbed Melody by her free arm, and dragged her behind the twisted metal of a burnt car.

"You need to get out of here. This guy's Quirk is way too dangerous, so I'll buy you an opening. As soon as I do, you make a break for it. You got that?" He demanded. Melody nodded and the Pro Hero sprung back into action, leaving her and the kid to watch as he charged. On initial inspection, man causing all of this destruction looked like a regular, everyday businessman. He was dressed in a finely tailored suit, though that was now in tatters, well-ironed pants, and a shined pair of shoes. The only thing that separated him from the common person was the massive beams of red energy that shout forth from his mouth and the crazed, almost possessed look in his yellow eyes, which snapped to Lionheart as he slashed at him with massive claws jutting out of his fingers.

 **The King Hero: Lionheart**

 **His Quirk: Lion**

 **With his Quirk, Lionheart has the power, reflexes, and senses befitting the King of the Jungle!**

His swipe was dodged by the man, who didn't even looked fazed at his sudden appearance. Taking advantage of the villain's distraction, Oddball jumped out from behind a car and held his hand aloft, pointing his palm directly at the businessman. "It's my lucky day!"

 **The Aces High Hero: Oddball**

 **His Quirk: Gambler**

 **Every time he uses his Quirk something different happens. It could be good, bad, or completely useless, but he can never tell which type it's gonna be!**

It took a second, but to Melody, who was awaiting this attack to make her getaway, it felt like an eternity until anything at all happened. However, when his Quirk did activate there was no grand attack that fired forth from his outstretched hand, instead a bouquet of plastic flowers appeared, to the shock of every hero or civilian who'd never seen the second-ranked hero in a fight. The only two people in the the area who didn't freeze in shock were the villain and Lionheart, who again charged at the former with his claws extended. This time, though, the result was more conclusive. Melody's heart fell into her stomach as she watched the concentrated red energy beam pierce through his. "Lionheart!"

"Me...lody, don't," he groaned out as he collapsed onto the rubble-covered streets. Almost as if a switch was flipped on, the remaining three Heroes began attacking the villain with renewed vigor. While the Pros fought, Melody held a shaking Michael close to her chest, though she couldn't be sure all of the trembling was due to the scared child in her arms. After all, she'd just seen a man that had been in her life for as long as she could remember cut down by a villain. She was brought back to the present by a particularly loud sob from the child, who she immediately tried to comfort.

"Shh, it's all going to be okay. We've got Oddball here. He won't let anything happen to us, he's too good of a Hero. I promise you, I'm going to help you find your mommy and daddy just as soon as they beat him." Her words seemed to calm the boy, as his shaking ceased and he loosened his grip on her just a little bit.

"What about Lionheart?" The boy whimpered. This gave Melody pause. Technically she couldn't do much. The law stated that those under legal age could not use their Quirks unless they were in a crisis situation, and even if that was the case they could only use them to escape. ' _Kharlamov's class was good for something, eh? That's a surprise. GAH! Think Melody, what are you going to do!?'_ While her conscious screamed at her, another of the Pro Heroes fell, leaving just Oddball and one of his sidekicks to face the businessman villain, who was raring to go despite the multiple injuries he'd received that would put a normal man out of commission for a few hours at least. ' _Oddball is the second-ranked Hero, but while he's strong his Quirk is unpredictable. The other guy's Quirk is something water based on what I've seen. Can they do this? And Lionheart is in bad condition and he's in the line of fire. Is that why they're holding back? I could...no, Melody. That is a horrible idea. I could get kicked out of the Forge, or worse. But...could they punish me if I didn't use my Quirk? It's too much of a risk I-I can't.'_ However, contrary to her thought process, her body was already moving on auto-pilot. She carefully, as to not further injure his broken leg, placed Michael into a nearby storefront that one of the Heroes had crashed through earlier. "Mel?"

"Stay here. I'm going to go help, Mr. Lionheart. Stay low and out of sight," she whispered before backing away slowly, trying to keep out of sight of the villain. She inched along the side of the burnt bus and peaked around the corner. There was about fifty feet between her Lionheart, then twenty or so more between him and the alleyway she had her sights on. ' _Crap. Dad is so going to kill me after this,'_ she thought before crouching into a running stance. With one last glance towards the battle between the villain and Oddball, she couldn't tell where the water Hero had gone, she took a deep breath and pushed off the ground. Each running step she took towards Lionheart felt like she wasn't making any ground at all, but then she reached him. Without pausing for a single tick, she grabbed the large man's arms and hefted him into a position on her back to where she could still move relatively fast. Unfortunately, that's when Oddball took a glancing blow to his right leg and fumbled his attack, which turned into a blue lightning bolt, causing it to fly not two feet from Melody and her cargo. Even worse, this diverted the villain's attention to the redheaded teen, who paled considerably. "Oh-no."

"Out of the way kid!" Oddball bellowed, trying to move towards her, but failing to do so as his leg collapsed under him. He swore as the villain geared up its attack, gathering energy into its mouth, and blasted it out at the teen, all while he lied on the ground. Melody's eyes widened as the beam got close to her and squeezed her eyes shut. Then the ray overtook her, much to the horror of Oddball, who stopped in his attempts to stand.

"Jeez...that was too close," Melody sputtered as the smoke from the attack's ensuing explosion cleared. The second-ranked Hero's eyes bulged when he finally took in the scene before him. Where the teen girl once was stood a wispy apparition with human-like features and dull, blood red hair that was constantly standing on end and waving, despite the lack of wind. The figure's eyes were a dark, pupil-less blue, and it appeared to be holding a figure on it's back.

 **Melody Halloway**

 **Her Quirk: Wraith**

 **Melody's Quirk allows her to take on an Ethereal form that can phase through walls and attacks. However, if she uses it too much she gets a killer headache.**

Unaffected by the sudden change in the girl, the businessman charged at her, readying up for yet another attack. ' _Oh man. This guy isn't fazed by anything. Gotta dodge, can't use my Quirk again after that or I'll pass out and we'll both be screwed.'_ Melody tensed in anticipation as the man's jaw nearly unhinged, glowing a bright red. Just then, right before he unleashed the attack, a blond blur shot past the teen and slammed its fist into the villain's chin. "Nathan!"

"Get outta here...boy," Lionheart grumbled, only half conscious. Standing before them, the usually jovial Nathan glared at the businessman with cat-like eyes, long knife-like claws, and his blond tail stiff and alert.

"Piss off, jerkwad!" The blond teen roared, holding his claws in a threatening posture, his back also arched slightly as if he were about to pounce.

 **Nathan Larson**

 **His Quirk: Leopard**

 **Very similar to his father's Quirk, but Nathan trades his old man's power for pure speed.**

"You've done enough damage here!" Once again, the businessman was unphased and began readying another blast, only for the cat-boy ran forwards at a ridiculous speed and slammed his elbow into the man's stomach, making him spit up a red liquid. Before the villain had a chance to recover, he took hold the man's head and slammed it into his knee. Without another sound, the man fell forward, unmoving. As soon as he hit the ground, Melody breathed a massive sigh of relief and fell onto her bottom, being careful not to drop the man perched on her back. she lied him back on the street, trying to avoid having pieces of rubble jabbing at him, and took Nathan's offered hand. She was pulled to her feet, but almost immediately fell over again at the immense onslaught of pain in her head. "You alright, Mel?"

"Yeah, yeah just...gimme a minute. I'm not used to phasing two people, yet. It's a bigger migraine than usual," she explained through clenched teeth.

"You'll live. Who else would scold me if you didn't?" Nathan asked cheekily.

"I'm sure your mother is going to have a few choice words for you after that stunt," Lionheart growled from his prone position on the ground, causing the blond-haired boy's face to go pale.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Well, there's chapter one, tell me what you guys think. I hope I was able to make Melody's Quirk a dramatic reveal. At first I wasn't going to do the Quirk announcer like in the Anime, but I figured "Why the hell not".**

 **Anyway, on the topic of Nathan beating this villain so easily, since I know it might not sit well with some of you, this happened for a variety of reasons. You may be asking "But Buixy, if he was that easily beaten, why didn't the Heroes do it?" To which I would answer:**

 **First-They had to focus on keeping him distracted for a majority of the fight or there would have been a ton of casualties.**

 **Second-He was already pretty beaten up from the long fight against the Heroes.**

 **Finally-I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW~**

 **ALSO a fun fact**

 **-Isobel Monroe (the person killed in the first scene) was one of the original names I was going to use for Melody. I went through several, including Isobel Monroe, Zoe Buchanan, and Zinnia Marco, but in the end settled happily with Melody. So in a way I already killed the main character in the first chapter :)**

 **...**

 **Uh...well, anyway keep on sending in those submissions. I eagerly await to see what you guys can come up with!**

 **Special thanks to everyone who already sent in a character! I actually implemented one of them in this chapter (I ain't saying who) so that's the benefit of sending in those submissions early.**


	3. Chapter 2: The First Step!

**Hey dudes! Before this chapter begins I want to give everyone who submitted an OC, left a review, followed or favorited, or sent me a PM my sincere thanks for the support you've given to this story I thought of months ago and only three weeks ago decided to make an SYOC. I've received a ton of very interesting and unique characters that have planted so many ideas in my head and changed the very fabric of this story's universe.**

 **Also sorry for this going up late, but I'm currently on vacation and haven't had too many opportunities to write.**

 **Also also sorry if this chapter feels rushed or isn't up to par with the other two. My excuse is the exact same as the one above. Not much of one but I rushed this in order to get you guys a chapter. May rewrite this at some point as I'm not entirely happy with it.**

 **Also also also...I really need a cover art for this story. I am not artistic and I hate to use a generic photo off the internet (but I will if needed) but first I wanted to ask if anyone reading would like to send in one. If so just send it to my email, which is at the end of the first chapter.**

 **Anyway...**

 **Oh! A wild OC appeared!**

 **That's right guys, the time has finally come. The U.S.A.E.I Entrance Exams start….after this quick prelude!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"SPITFIRE YOU IDIOT!" A booming voice bellowed. In a small, very messy apartment in the dead center of Queens sat a man, with golden hair, on a light gray futon with one missing leg. The man, who appeared to only be in his late teens, snorted and leaned back into the cushions. Next to him stood a large computer monitor with four distinct squares on it. Within each square was the silhouette of a different person, two appearing to be female, one very straight postured, and the other almost unnoticeable. The shouting had come from one of the squares with a female figure.

"What do you want from me, Puppet? Lady waltzed right into the alley, what if she'd have followed me to the meeting place, huh? We'd have a dozen Pros breaking down our doors in a heartbeat," the golden-haired man, Spitfire, retorted. From the square with the figure with good posture came another voice, this one clearly male and sophisticated.

"Now, now. No fighting here, _children_." The female speaker was visibly irritated, which seemed to only satisfy the sophisticated one. "Spitfire, next time move with a bit more discretion. As you said, we can't have a band of Heroes following our moves before we've made our name known."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Sorry," the golden-haired man sighed, though he seemed more frustrated than apologetic.

"No matter. We may have had to test Puppeteer's abilities sooner than we'd planned, but in the end, it worked out. We managed to seriously nearly kill another a top twenty Hero and inflicted injury on the number two. I'd say that is a very adequate application of our time."

"Thank you very much, Prophet," Puppeteer said, the mocking tone in her voice clear as day. Spitfire opened his mouth to further agitate the woman but was interrupted by the second male voice.

"Indeed. So far we've made quite the name for ourselves without actually having our identity known. A top fifty sidekick and the number ten hero dead, while the number two and fifteen both injured? Sufficient to say that things are moving along nicely." The man's voice sent a chill down Spitfire's spine. "However, that's not why I called this meeting. I allowed your banter as a way to break the ice for this meeting, but it stops now."

"Yes, sir," Spitfire and Puppeteer muttered in unison.

"Now then, as you know the entrance exams for the academy begin soon. Is everything in place, Vesuvius?" The final member of the quintet laughed slightly and answered rather provocatively.

"Yes~, the seeds have been sown. This Hero world will soon come to an end," Miss Vesuvius purred, causing Spitfire to flinch. ' _Talk about a kiss ass. All she does is kill people and fawn over Plague.'_

"Good. Ah yes, I learned something you may be interested in. The child of Teardrop is one of those taking the entrance exams this year. I made sure her application was pushed through, though I'm sure she'd have got in on merit alone. Better to be safe than sorry, wouldn't you say?" At the mere mention of her former employer, Vesuvius tensed up.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"Now then, Spitfire. Lay low, but stay in the area. We need someone close to the academy. Puppeteer, you and Prophet will head out west and continue 'recruiting'. Vesuvius...stay where you are and for the love of God don't let yourself be seen. You're the only one of us that is officially wanted by the U.S.H.A. and your face is everywhere. LAY LOW," Plague growled and cut off his connection, leaving the remaining four in silence. One by one the others each disconnected, leaving Spitfire alone in his apartment. He lied down fully on the futon and yawned, revealing a burnt black mouth and throat that clashed with his pearly white teeth.

"Plague is pretty intense. Ah well, at least he isn't killing me yet." He grinned at his statement, but that soon turned into a deep frown. "Entrance exams...around the time for her to start high school, isn't it? Can't believe I forgot...I'm a real shitty brother."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **June 23, 2317**

The United States Academy for Enhanced Individuals popularly called either U.S.A.E.I or simply 'The Forge' for its tendency to use 'trial by fire' methods to shape the next generation of Heroes. Amongst the most prestigious Hero training schools across the globe, it ranks second, only behind U.A. of Japan. Located just outside of New York City, the campus itself covers just over two square miles of land, with separate facilities either located off-campus or in the expansive underground tunnel network beneath the school. However, it was not always like this. The first iteration of U.S.A.E.I was founded in the year 2048 in the city of Yonkers. This school was much larger and had a higher annual acceptance rate than its successor. It stood as a shining standard for Hero training for nearly two hundred years before it was burnt to the ground following a villain attack in 2234. When the dust cleared, they rebuilt the school closer to an urban center so that Pro Heroes could rush to its defense in case of a similar incident. Not only that, but the school's overall image was also overhauled. It was made more compact, and consequently, its acceptance rate plummeted from allowing forty students for both the Hero and Support classes, to just thirty-two. While it may not seem like much, this greatly increased the amount of competition and the school quickly became one of the more exclusive. Every year the majority of its inductees were family members of well-known Pro Heroes and alumni, mostly due to these select getting the training they needed to pass the exam growing up.

One of these potential inductees was a girl by the name of Melody Halloway, the daughter of the former number three Hero, Teardrop. Just over a month previous to when her own entrance exam was slated to take place, she had her first brush with the real dangers of villainy and the Hero profession. After the villain, whose real name was discovered to be Aaron Bush, was defeated by Nathan, her childhood friend, taken into custody, everyone on the scene was relocated to the nearest hospital, where the seriously wounded, including Axel Larson, Nathan's father and the Hero known as Lionheart, who was back to business the following day, despite the doctor's orders. She and Nathan had both been scolded for their public use of Quirks, but thanks to Oddball taking the credit for the villain's defeat neither was prosecuted. The next month leading up to the U.S.A.E.I entrance exams had been full of nothing but training for Melody, whose father pushed her further than ever, right up the day of the exam. Unfortunately, his last-minute training had gone on a bit longer than either of them had planned. As a result, the redheaded teen was in a serious time crunch.

"Stupid old man. 'This is the most important day of your life! It's good to get started early!' he says. Okay...okay calm down. Even with the delay, I should be able to make it in time," Melody muttered to herself. She glanced down at the analog time on her phone's home screen, which read 8:36, and grimaced. ' _There's still twenty-four minu...twenty-three minutes until the exam begins. I think there are four or five stops left, so if we don't run into any big problems I should get there on time. Unless there's traffic...or a villain attack again...or we run out of gas.'_ The redhead groaned and smacked her cheeks with the palms of her hands. "Dang-it Melody! Stop worrying!" By the time the bus finally pulled up to the large, metal front gates, the red-haired teen had repeated these words to herself a dozen times. With a great degree of hesitance, Melody glanced down at her phone's clock once again. ' _8:53! I've gotta go!'_ The doors of the bus hadn't even opened up yet when she leaped through them, having transformed into her Wraith for the second time already that morning. She was so focused on running towards the office building that she didn't notice the burly figure walking perpendicular to her until they collided, with Melody bouncing off. As she shook off her daze and muttered an apology, a pair of strong hands grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her up.

"What's the big idea!?" A girl with almond-shaped red eyes growled, her unkempt magenta hair swaying as she shook the redhead violently.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm just late and I need to go now please!" Melody cried, nearly shifting back into her Wraith form, but stopped when she saw recognition dawning in the other girl's eyes. In an instant, her furious expression had turned to one of disgust.

"Oh, you. The crybaby's kid, right?" Melody's eyes widened at this, causing the other girl to laugh haughtily. "Yeah, you are. My father told me about you. I bet you're just as worthless as that wannabe Teardrop."

"What?" The teen grumbled, a slight anger seeping into her tone. This, of course, only caused the antagonizer's grin to widen.

"Huh? You gonna cry me into submission? How are people supposed to look up to a Hero whose always crying, eh?" She taunted. Melody bit her lip to keep from retaliating, but her patience was quickly slipping. At that moment, it almost seemed as if the weight of the world suddenly got placed on her shoulders. The magenta-haired girl grunted under the strain and turned her head to glare at the muscular, brunet boy who stared at the two with his right arm held aloft and one brown eyebrow raised. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I think I should be asking you that. Fighting despite the fact we haven't even gotten the chance to know one another. How about you let her go and I don't turn you into a pancake, then turn you in?" The boy threatened. The magenta-haired girl frowned and released her grip on Melody, who immediately fell to the ground. The brunet gave her a sheepish look as the other girl flipped him the bird and started to stalk off. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get you caught up in my gra-"

"Thank you so much, but I've gotta go!" Melody screamed over her shoulder as she resumed her sprint to the administrations building. The boy blinked in confusion and watched until the girl's wild mane of red hair disappears into the large, colonial-like building that served the administrative staff as well as the teacher's personal offices and lounge. Inside the front lobby, Melody huffed and put her hands on her knees, taking a ten-second break, before running up to the nearest sign-in desk, much to the befuddlement of the staff member seated there. "Am...am t-too...late?"

"Huh? Oh, no! Nope, you made it just in time. Name?" The man, whose hair was dyed a dark blue, inquired, directing his eyes to the sheet of paper on the table in front of him.

"Melody Halloway." The man took a moment to search the sheet, nodded, and pulled a small piece of paper from beneath the desk.

"Exam hall five. Good luck, kid." Melody thanked him quickly, turned, and sprinted in the way he had pointed. ' _Exam room one...two...three...four. There!'_ A sign marked with the number five sat anteriorly a large, wooden door. Without a second thought the redhead burst through the door...only to find herself in the front of the whole auditorium, its occupants numbering in the high hundreds. Standing directly to her right was a strict looking woman with gray hair tied up into a braid.

"Uh...hi?" Melody said unsurely. The proctor gave her a critical look before jerking her head towards the stands, clearly telling the redhead to take her seat, a command that she was all too happy to comply with. She managed to find an open spot about halfway up the aisle, sat down, and hung her head so she wouldn't have to look at anyone else.

"As I was saying. My name is Rosapast Barthory. I teach the Hero Etiquette class her at U.S.A.E.I. Today, however, I am your proctor for the first part of your entrance exam. The written portion of your exam will be worth three hundred points, a majority of the five hundred total. You must get at least one hundred and twenty to pass. Any questions left unfinished will count against your overall score, you will have two hours to finish. Any questions?" She barked. Surprisingly, to Melody at least, not a single hand went up. As if expecting this, the woman jerked her head in a stiff nod at several people waiting at the end of each aisle with a stack of papers. "Once you receive your exam you may begin."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody rubbed at her temples to alleviate a headache as she and the rest of the students in her group made their way down to the site for the physical exam. The written test had been both as bad and better than she had initially expected. While the science and math problems gave her trouble, which was something she assumed would go poorly, the literature and Heroics questions came easily. ' _Even so, I have to be the best in the physical and Quirk exams. If I'm not then I don't know if my written score can carry me. Okay, time to focus and pass this frigging test!'_ Her eyes glinted in determination and she clenched her fists as the group reached a small running track. In the center of the track was a woman with messy white hair, and a black eyepatch covering her right eye, while the left stared dully at the crowd of students approaching. She wore a traditional red kimono with a long red scarf resting on her neck, at her sides were several sheaths, each with a different length sword inside. Once she started speaking it was clear she didn't want anything to the aspiring Heroes. "Alright. My name is Izanami Honoka. I am the combat trainer here at the Forge. You'll be doing tests today to judge your physical fitness levels. No Quirks. Separate into groups of three and these upperclassmen will be proctoring, while I observe. Dismissed."

"That was brief," Melody muttered to herself, though it seemed like the girl standing beside her caught it because she let out a quick bark of laughter. The two girls turned to one another and smiled. "Melody Halloway."

"Kira Kazani," replied the girl, who had waist-length hair that was a dull yellow at its roots, red at its very tips, and orange in between. Her eyes were her most striking feature though. The pitch black orbs, despite not having pupils or appearing very expressive, shone with a bright curiosity. "Alright! Let's go! We just need one more person and we've got a group! Who is going to be our ne-"

"Kira!?" Melody cried as the black-eyed girl tripped over her own feet and face planted on the ground. Her actions grabbed the attention of practically the entire hoard of applicants, many of which chuckled or outright laughed as the redhead offered her hand to her new friend. "You alright?"

"Of course!" Kira said, giggling lightly. She dusted off her faded blue jeans and resumed her look for another person to join their group. Unfortunately, most students were already paired up. Following a moment of searching though, Melody's eyes landed on a boy with purple hair, who was standing in a direct ray of sunlight, seemingly ignoring the squabble of students preparing for their exams. Unperturbed by his aloof appearance, Kira jogged up and patted him on the shoulder, causing him to turn and open his eyelids, showing off a pair of bright yellow eyes. "Hey, I'm Kira and this is Melody. We need another person, you wanna join us?"

"Well, I suppose there's not much choice. Okay," the boy said, nodding his head slightly. Kira leaped into the air, cheered, and promptly fell onto her behind. The boy stared at her in apparent shock, but an instant later she was back on her feet with a million kilowatt smile plastered on her face.

"Now we've got three!" Not long after the boy introduced himself as Kenny Phillips, or Ken as he preferred to be called, an upperclassman with bleached blonde hair waltzed over to them and held up a hand in greeting.

"Hey, I'm Dominick Coore. Nice to meet y'all," he drawled in a very distinct southern accent. The three took turns introducing themselves and then got right down to business. "First we've got the fifty-meter dash. Line up in lanes five, seven, and six."

The three followed his orders and, after another upperclassman shot a starting gun into the air, took off. With the exception of Kira's third fall of the day, a trend that would continue, the race went well for Melody. The next event was push-ups, followed by sit-ups, both of which all three did well on, and then came pull-ups, something the redhead had always struggled with. The rest of the physical events passed in a flash, but all in all, Melody was content with the results. Kira, on the other hand, was slightly depressed. When all was said and done, her clumsiness had undeniably hurt her score. Kenny was fairly hard for Melody to read, so she didn't know if he was satisfied or not. Dominick looked at them with a small grin on his face. "Well done, noobs! Hope y'all don't screw the pooch and make it in!"

"Uh, thanks Dominick," Melody replied, her voice uneven. Even though she was happy with her written and physical, she knew that the Quirk evaluation would require more than a passing grade, she'd have to excel. The applicants were given an hour for lunch, courtesy of the school, in the cafeteria and surrounding grounds before they would be called in one-by-one. Having gotten a tray ladened with hearty foods, a juice box, and a slice of cake to calm her nerves, Melody took a seat in the shade of a large willow tree around two-hundred yards from the school building. ' _From what dad told me, the exam is going to be a mixture of practical use and questions fielded by the present teachers. In terms of combat, my abilities are limited. If I could only change the phase on one part of my body then Wraith would be far more useful. As it is, I can only dodge attacks but have to change forms again in order to land physical attacks. I'm not going for the conventional Hero License, so maybe they planned for that. That was part of the application. Crap, what if they make me do combat to show I can deal with any challenge that comes my way. No. Calm down, Mel. Jeez, I can't lose my head like this every time I'm faced with something difficult...but what if that's one of the things they're testing? Uhg, I'm my own worst enemy.'_ Her musings stopped a loudspeaker screeched to life above her head.

" _Attention! Would Andrew Abrams please report to evaluation room three and Cody Adams to room seven. Abrams to three, Adams to seven. Thank you."_ Melody frowned and leaned back onto the trunk of the tree. ' _Seems they're going alphabetically at least. I wonder which group Nathan is in. He was so nervous last night I'm sure he was at the gates before even the teachers. Silly goof, he's always been that way. Racing towards his problems before they even become problems. I really hope that even if I don't make it that he does.'_ Suddenly, another body fell against the tree beside her. Following a quick glance, Melody smiled at Kira, who appeared to be unphased by their impending doom. ' _Maybe I'm being a bit overly dramatic. I sound like dad.'_

"Pretty nerve-racking, eh?" Kira commented, contrary to her relaxed posture. Melody nodded slightly and gulped.

"You seem to be handling it well." Kira chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm a fantastic actor. Anyway, looks like it's going to be in alphabetical order, so we've both got a bit to strategize, any ideas? I'm completely blank," the teen with multi-colored hair smiled sheepishly.

"I've got a few, but I doubt it'll be easy. Probably try to pinpoint our weaknesses and stuff like that." A few more names were called over the intercom, interrupting their conversation for a moment. For the next half hour, the two spoke about anything and everything to keep themselves distracted from the upcoming exam, though it sat just at the outskirts of their minds, making their attempts at relaxation even more difficult. Eventually...the time came.

" _Attention! Melody Halloway to exam room two, and Christopher Higgins to exam room three. Halloway to two, Higgins to three. Thank you."_ Melody slowly got to her feet, barely registering her companion wishing her luck, and began to stiffly walk towards the large building located across the sprawling grassy area from the cafeteria. As she got closer she picked out the metal door marked with a freshly polished number five and stopped in front of it. ' _This is it. Stay steady.'_ With her thoughts of encouragement to herself ringing in her mind, she grasped her door handle and pushed open the heavy iron door. The room inside was brightly lit, bigger than she had expected, and completely barren. She glanced around for a moment, worried she'd entered the wrong room. That's when a crackling voice came over a hidden loudspeaker.

" _You are Melody Halloway?"_ The masculine voice asked. The redhead in question nodded meekly and he continued. " _In your application, you described your Quirk as being one suited to a Search and Rescue Hero. Care to explain why that is?"_

"O-oh, um, yeah. W-well my Quirk, as I'm certain you know, allows me to transform my body into an ethereal state. I can pass through walls, rubble, and even change the state of others I'm touching, but only for a few seconds at a time," she explained, gradually losing her stutter. The voice was silent for a moment before he resumed his questioning.

" _A power that allows you to dodge any attack. Don't you think you'd be better suited on the front lines?"_ To this, Melody sighed and shook her head, remembering the day her father had explained why she should go after a Search and Rescue License as opposed to a General Hero License.

"It's too dangerous to use in actual combat."

" _Care to explain?"_

"While I can dodge any attack I can't counterattack in my Wraith form. At the moment changing my state is an all-or-nothing state. Either I'm ethereal or I'm not. Plus if I lose my concentration then my form slips, which is equally as dangerous. If there's an object, like a fist or weapon, inside the confines of my body when the form drops then it'll cause my skin, organs, and bones to shift in order to accommodate the new item. It can seriously mess with my body." During her explanation, she subconsciously grabbed ahold of her left hand. The man was quiet for a moment before a low rumbling shook the room. In the center of it, the ground began to rise up and revealed a platform with a ten-foot thick cement wall, a pile of rubble meant to look like something from a disaster zone, and the man who had sat at the sign in desk. He grinned at the girl and motioned her over. When he spoke, Melody recognized his voice as a less distorted version of the one from over the loudspeaker.

"Hey, I'm Derrick Holl. I'll be your proctor for this exam. Pretty straight up. Walk through the cement wall while carrying the 'civilian' you'll use your Quirk to save from that pile of rubble. Sound good?" He asked, his tone very laid back and calm.

"Yes, sir!" Melody cried, louder than she'd meant to. ' _This test seems easier than I expected.'_ Derrick held up a small silver stopwatch and nodded at her before clicking the button. The redhead immediately took off to the stack of rubble and shifted into her Wraith form. The proctor raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in appearance. The girl dove into the rubble and, after a moment of searching, spotted a child-sized test dummy lying under a particularly large piece of concrete. ' _There's a bit of space to transform back.'_ Melody grimaced as a burst of pain shot through her head, directly behind her right temple. She stopped in the small opening, rested for a moment, and grabbed the dummy, shifting its form as soon as she made contact. She then rushed back the way she came, dummy flung gently over her shoulder. When she exited the rubble, her expression turned from a pained grimace to one of surprise at the sight of the proctor's fist flying towards her. She nearly lost her composure as it neared, yet somehow managed to keep her ethereal form active. "What the heck!?"

"What? You expected this to be easy? Villains and disaster areas go hand in hand. You've gotta be prepared to fight or run away!" Holl proclaimed. Heeding his words, Melody darted over to the wall, only to smack headfirst into it as her Quirk failed. ' _Crap! This can't end yet!'_ Gathering her strength and pushing the pain to the back of her mind, she stood up and forced her body to change. ' _Ten seconds is all I've got!'_ She estimated before sprinting towards the large concrete wall. Holl stepped out ahead of her once again and grinned. "Not much I can do here, eh? Shoulda got someone with a Quirk more suited to this."

"Sorry!" Melody cried before darting through him and into the wall. Darkness overtook her and she felt a blinding pain shoot into the back of her eyes. With just a few seconds left on her estimated timer, she burst out of the other side of the wall and fell to her knees, her Wraith failing and head pounding. She placed the dummy on the ground beside her and lied down next to it.

"Uh...you okay, kid?" Holl inquired, one of his dark blue eyebrows raised. She tiredly raised her hand with one thumb up.

She'd completely exhausted herself and pushed her Quirk to its breaking points, but felt the satisfaction knowing that she'd done her best at the Quirk assessment. For the next week and a half, she was plagued by headaches ranging from a mild throb to a full-blown migraine. However, it was worth it when, just three days after the exam, she received a letter. A letter of acceptance.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **There it is. Tell me what you think. I'm not too happy with it, but the main point of this chapter was to tease the OCs and show some more of Melody's Quirk.**

 **ALSO! The numbers for OCs currently submitted has been updated on the first chapter of this story (not the actual first chapter, just the one you see first on fanfic)**

 **NEXT TIME ON PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 _ **A Rocky Beginning!**_

 _ **GO BEYOND! PLUUUUUS ULTRA!**_

 **H-how was that?**


	4. Chapter 3: Moving In

**Alright! Are you guys excited to meet all your OCs? Me too! And that's why I'm proud to announce...if you submitted a male OC you gotta wait another week...sorry. At first, I was just gonna start with their first day of school but decided to introduce all of Melody's dormmates first because...well it made more sense than jumping right into the first day.**

 **Introducing the beginning of the Second Arc of this story (The first was the Prologue Arc) called THE ROCKY BEGINNINGS ARC!**

 **Also...My new update day is going to be Friday as it gives me more time during the week to write.**

 **Also Also...A bit of fun for you guys. First off I have a very odd playlist of music that I listen to that includes Anime Covers, Eminem, sappy songs, and rock songs. So for the start of the first non-prologue arc, here are my opening and ending songs. Because why the f*** not, eh?**

 **Opening:** _ **Long Way Down -**_ **Goo Goo Dolls (Don't judge!)**

 **Ending:** _ **Perfect by Design -**_ **Nathan Sharp (aka Natewantstobattle)**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **August 1, 2317...10:37 am**

"MELLY, DARLING! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" Carlyle Halloway bawled as he scooped his, clearly irate, daughter into his arms and squeezed tight. The redheaded teen immediately began kicking and countering his declarations of joy with shouts of annoyance. On the other side of their small apartment, Nathan and his parents, his father still wrapped up like a mummy underneath his plain blue dress shirt, chuckled at the display before them. In the kitchen, Carlyle's new hire, Anthony, groaned as he slaved away over the stove, wondering to himself if the overtime pay was really worth it. A banner hung just over the small dining room table that read 'Congratulations'. Having had enough, Melody shifted into her Wraith form and slid out of her father's arms, landing on her feet with a quiet thud. "MELODY! NO QUIRK USAGE IN THE HOUSE!"

"THEN DON'T SUDDENLY GRAB ME LIKE THAT OLD MAN!" The redhead countered. The two glared at one another for a few moments, during which Nathan swore he could see the sparks of indignation in each of their eyes. The sound of crashing originating from the kitchen brought them out of their stare down though, as Carlyle straightened up and began roaring again.

"ANTHONY! WHAT ARE YOU BREAKING THIS TIME!?" The man bellowed, stomping into the kitchen, leaving behind a bemused daughter and an even more amused Larson family. Axel guffawed and shook his head at his friend's antics.

"Still hasn't changed in the past twenty years. I swear he can yell louder than Seismos," he commented. Nathan also laughed, while Melody just rolled her eyes. It was at this moment that Nathan's mother, Veronica, spoke up.

"Melody, dear. Have you decided whether or not you will move into the dorms yet?" She inquired in a soft tone. While the three males in her home were always incredibly rowdy and always fighting, Veronica Larson was the voice of reason and understanding. Ever since she could remember, Melody had been treated as a member of the family. Usually, she was greeted by the middle-aged woman with more enthusiasm than any of Nathan's other friends. She'd always been welcome, with Veronica saying she needed the presence of another girl in the house to keep her sanity.

"Nope! I've still got like two days until I have to decide. Frankly, moving out seems like such an odd idea. Granted I wouldn't have to deal with the old man's eccentricities twenty-four seven," Melody replied thoughtfully. The concept of moving into the dorms was indeed a strange one. On one hand, the teen desired the independence that would come with the new housing and all the challenged that would come with it. On the other, as much as she hated to admit it...she would miss her father, her room, the restaurant, the greasy foods, the midnight surprise training sessions, the sudden declarations of war over the most trivial things, and most of all she'd miss the memories. ' _Crap. I really need to put thought into this. The acceptance letter said I had to register for a room by August tenth. Term begins the twentieth. Then I have to convince Dad...which shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure he'll be all for it if it helps with my Hero Training. At least, I think he will be.'_ Veronica smiled at her answer and reached over to pinch her son's cheeks. Nathan, who'd been chowing down on a plate of finger foods that Anthony had made, yelped in pain and waved his mother's hand away.

"Go 'way Mom!" He said through a mouth full of food.

"My dearest Nathan has already decided to leave me alone to deal with his irresponsible father and baby brother. So thoughtless!" The woman cried dramatically. Her son rolled his eyes and walked away from them, throwing himself onto the couch in the adjacent living room. "In any case, I just wanted to thank you again for saving my husband. He's always been so reckless and I fear that Nathan will be no different. Those boys just live to worry me. At least Brian is still young enough for me to not have to fear for him everytime we leave the house. It's quite exhausting enough as is. Which reminds me, I hate to ask this of you Melody but even though you're in different classes...could you please look after Nathan? Knowing him he'll run off and get himself hurt within the first week without someone to keep him in check."

"No need to worry, Mrs. L. Me and Nathan have already decided that we'll meet up every Saturday for training and studying," Melody replied with a small smile, prompting the only Larson female to laugh and pull her into an embrace.

"You're the best Mel." Suddenly the sound of another loud bang interrupted their conversation and Melody turned to glare at her father, who emerged from the kitchen holding Anthony by the scruff of his neck, both of the men covered in dough.

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT QUIRK USAGE IN THE HOUSE!?" Carlyle yelled, causing the spine-haired teen to flinch and double his efforts to get free. The mountain of a man continued to yell at his employee, following every word with a vigorous shake. Very soon a pile of the boy's spiky hair lay in a pile around Carlyle's feet.

"Y-You nev-er told me an-anything, M-Mr. Hal-loway!" He whined as he was shaken. Across the room Melody sighed and marched over to her father, landing a hard kick to his shin, making him drop the boy with a yelp.

"THAT WAS ME YOU TOLD THAT, IDIOT!"

"DON'T YELL AT YOUR FATHER, MELLY DEAR!" With only minutes passed since their last shouting match, father and daughter began it anew. That is...until Nathan's voice, full of panic, called them from the living room.

"GUYS! GET IN HERE! NOW!" In an instant, every person in the apartment rushed into the room and froze. Nathan sat on the couch, ashed faced and eyes glued to the T.V. Melody followed his gaze and what she saw on the small screen made her blood run cold. A news report with a stricken sounding reporter announcing the footage was live from Japan. It looked like a disaster zone, even worse than the streets had been after the Lazer Breath incident. At the center of it all stood a man with no distinguishable face, dressed in a full tuxedo. In front of the man stood perhaps the most famous hero of all time, even in a foreign country like the U.S., All-Might. Although, the All-Might on the screen was completely different from what Melody had always seen. If it weren't for the costume and the headline below the feed of the battle that read 'All-Might in Peril!' she wouldn't have recognized the skeletal man with just a singular muscled arm.

"What the heck?" The redhead gasped. On the screen, the no-face man rose into the air and his arm started to grow into a grotesque, miss-match of bulging skin and pieces of metal. But, just before the attack in unleashed, two more Heroes show up on the scene and distract the villain. Carlyle and Axel both made noises of surprise when the newcomers appeared.

"Endeavor and Edgeshot. Two of Japan's top Heroes," her father explained. Melody nodded and turned back to the television just in time to see the two Heroes get blown away and the villain soaring at All-Might. The attack connected and the resulting explosions blocked the camera's view for a moment. It quickly clears up and Nathan cheers as All-Might landed a punch to the villain's face. Everyone in the room looked on in shock as the Symbol of Peace seemed to gear up for a massive attack and slammed the villain into the ground with a punch, resulting in a shockwave that split the earth beneath them. A chill runs down Melody's spine at the sight of the most recognizable Hero raising his fist into the air. A wave of hysteria runs through the room with each person being overtaken by a burst of glee. The only exception was Carlyle Halloway, who simply stared at the ceiling with a frown on his face. ' _All-for-One defeated, eh? This is a bigger problem than anyone without inside information could know. So much for a victory lunch, I've gotta make a call.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **August 17, 2317**

Melody sighed as her father's dark blue SUV pulled away from the curb and drove off down the road leading to the entrance gate of U.S.A.E.I.'s grounds. It had been two weeks since her family, which she included Nathan and his family in, had celebrated the two childhood friends' acceptance to the Hero Training Program at the Forge...as well as the highly publicized fall of All-Might. Even across the Pacific Ocean, the shockwaves of his retirement shook the very foundation of Hero culture. In the little time since that fateful night, the crime rate in the U.S. had risen four percent higher than it had been in three decades. Despite this, Melody had been lucky enough not to be caught up in another incident and, having gathered her resolve, decided to move into the dorm houses on the school's property. While the dorms were usually designated for those who lived too far away from the school to commute, they were open to any student in either the Hero Program or the Support Technology Program. In total there were four buildings, two for each gender, with Support and Hero students separated as well. Inside the buildings, the layout was decided by seniority. The senior students got the top floor, juniors the third, sophomores the second, and freshmen were given the ground floor.

Coming to the decision to move to the dorms had not been an easy one for the teen. Her father had taken quite a bit of convincing, but in the end, he relented and helped her pack. The morning she was to finally move in was met with overly dramatic tears, hugs, and last second mind changes from her father...and maybe a bit from herself as well. It hadn't taken long to move all of her belongings into her new dorm room, though it was a challenge moving it through the crowded hallways. In terms of possessions, the school had provided furniture and appliances so Melody really only brought her very limited wardrobe, she'd never been one for shopping, and a few personal items, a picture of her mother and her as a toddler, a small book on famous Heroes she'd read a thousand times that had been a gift from her grandfather, and of course her cell phone. To her disappointment, the room looked a bit barren, but she'd resolved to try and find a few posters of her mother and grandfather to cover the walls...maybe one of Oddball as well.

When the time came for her father to say goodbye, he'd been even more dramatic than he had that morning and loudly proclaimed "MY DARLING MELLY IS GROWING UP!", scaring a fair few of her fellow students and earning the ire of said 'Darling Melly'. She quickly hugged him and said a hushed goodbye before pushing him back towards his car. As his car vanished around the corner a feeling of melancholy overtook her and she dragged her feet back inside the dorm, not even bothering to open the door, simply shifting into her Wraith form. However, this turned out to be a bad idea because as she phased through the wall she was met with a cry of shock and fear. A girl, clearly startled by her unconventional entrance, tripped backward and landed on her rear with a wail of surprise. The brown-skinned girl had green eyes, tan-colored hair that reached the middle of her back, and perhaps most noticeably, longs silver ears that greatly resembled antennae. "Oh dang! Sorry!"

"It's okay! I'm okay!" The girl said, quickly getting to her feet and staring at Melody with a weird look in her eyes. "Was that your Quirk? What's it called? What does it do? Why do you look sorta scary?"

"Uh," the redhead droned, uncertain how to reply to the rapid-fire questions. "Yeah. It's called Wraith. Uh...it allows me to phase through stuff, and that's just how it's always looked."

"Interesting. That'd probably be a pretty good rescue Quirk if the ones you're rescuing don't get too spooked by the look of it. Might not be the most combat-oriented power though," the brown-haired girl rambled. As soon as she'd started her rant, she cut herself off and held out a hand towards Melody. "Andi Ena."

 **Andi Ena**

 **Her Quirk: Antennae Ears**

 **Using her antenna-like ears, Andi can both receive and emit radio waves on varying frequencies. However, she mostly uses her Quirk to listen in on other people's conversations.**

"Melody Halloway. Nice to meet you," The redhead greeted with a smile. Just then another voice shook the entire dorm house.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY HEADPHONES!?" Melody paled considerably at the sound of the female voice and shook her head. ' _That sounds like the girl I ran into on the day of the Entrance Exam. I was kinda hoping she'd failed or been put in a different class. Is that bad? Am I a bad person?'_ Before she could continue her mental dialogue, the originator of the voice came stomping out of one of the hallways branching off the main hall wearing an orange muscle shirt covered by a pilot's jacket, with her magenta hair wild and untamed. She glared around the room for a moment before her eyes landed on Melody and Andi. The bright red orbs seemed to glow with hatred for a moment and she charged at them. Up close, Melody could make out a small, thin scar crossing over the girl's nose that she hadn't seen from a distance. "WHAT THE HELL IS THE CRYBABY'S KID DOING HERE!?"

"Oh...um, I'm Melody. Nice to meet you?" The redhead said, extending a hand with a strained smile on her face. Unsurprisingly her hand was slapped away.

"Piss off. Listen up, stay the hell out of my way and we won't have any problems, capiche?" Without waiting for an answer, the girl continued her rampage, leaving a relieved Melody and an astounded Andi.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"I dunno. I think she has some sort of problem with my mom. Not entirely sure, though. By the way, have you already finished moving in?" The redhead questioned. Her companion nodded happily and practically dragged Melody to her room, which was located on the other side of the floor from her own. As soon as the wooden door flew open, the two were assaulted with Hero posters, a few scattered comics and books, and around ten to fifteen model spaceships, some perfect replicas of a space opera film Melody had seen years ago, hanging from the ceiling. "It's very nice. You're an Oddball fan as well?"

"Of course! He's always been my favorite. The Number One Hero is just a bit too...edgy for me," Andi replied enthusiastically. America's Top Ranked Hero, at least in terms of the overall rankings as he was ranked third in popularity, was a man by the name of Overgrown. His Quirk, Green Thumb, gave him complete control over the growth of plant life. His versitile power, combined with his reportedly strong sense of morals, always had him at the top of crimes stopped list. Generally, he was even at the top of the captured villains list. However, he was a bit of a social recluse and spent much of his free time in a small greenhouse-like apartment in Washington D.C.

"He's better than Captain Celebrity at the very least," Melody replied dryly. The former Number One Hero of America was a very selfish man who thought only of himself and his fame. He saw Heroism as a means to become rich and famous. While the general public had him highly ranked on the popularity charts, his fellow Heroes weren't so keen on his attitude and how difficult he was to work with. He had left to become a top Hero in Japan years ago. When his aspirations came to light, he was shunned by the American People and retired from Heroism not long after.

"Yeah. Oh! Did you see the newest rankings they released yesterday? Crusader was moved into fifth and Aeroblast moved to fourth. Seismos got a massive surge in solved crimes and villain takedowns, so he got bumped up to third," Andi explained. Melody nodded, she hadn't had the chance to watch the Hero Charts get updated the night before, as she was too busy alternating between last minute packing and fending off her father's 'surprise training sessions', which basically involved him attacking her with pots, pans, a golf club, and, at one point, used Anthony as a bat of sorts. Of course, she'd gotten an excited text from Nathan informing her that his father had made the jump from fifteen the vacant tenth spot. To the redhead's surprise, Andi's normal grin twisted into something a bit more conspiratorial and just a little bit creepy. "I got curious when I got here this morning and saw that yell-y girl for the first time. She just looked a bit too angry for her own good, so I might've done some research on her. She's Seismos' daughter. Her name is Clara."

"Seriously? Well...that kinda explains the temper," Melody muttered to herself. Before she and Andi could start up another topic of conversation, another familiar voice called out to them.

"Melody!? You made it in!" The redhead turned and was greeted with the wide smile and black eyes of Kira, the girl who she met at the Entrance Exam. Unlike that day the girl with multi-colored hair was dressed in a loose-fitting red hoodie and faded blue jeans. Her enthusiasm was clearly still the same.

"Hey Kira, How's it going?"

"Fantastic! I just got finished unpacking, but I then this really loud girl started shouting and made one of my posters fall off the wall. She seemed rather pissed about something," Kira spouted, the words exiting her mouth at speeds almost too quick for Melody to follow.

"Yeah, that's Clara. She seems a bit...hot-tempered. Oh, Kira, this is Andi. Andi, Kira," the redhead said, gesturing to each as she said their name. Almost immediately the two began talking at supersonic speed about anything and everything, not even noticing when Melody slipped away and began the walk across the ground floor to get to her own room. She never did make it though, as she was called by a girl with rough, reptilian skin, blood red hair done up into a mohawk, and a reptilian snout sitting on a couch in the living area with two other girls.

"Hey! Are you Class FH2?" The reptilian girl called. As soon as Melody nodded, she was waved over. Taking a seat she took a moment to observe the odd trio. Sitting to the left of the reptilian was a girl with blonde hair that curled slightly at her shoulders and small, but sharp green eyes. She wore a purple tank top and Melody was surprised to see six, thought two were just barely visible beneath the straps of the top, small metal holes embedded into the girl's chest. While on the right was a particularly small girl with light brown hair and droopy brown eyes. She seemed to still have a bit of baby fat on her, but the redhead could not see any distinguishable sign of a Quirk. "My name is Diana. This is Rylee and Hazel. We're in FH2 as well."

 **Diana Suharto**

 **Her Quirk: Komodo Dragon**

 **Pretty self-explanatory, she can basically do anything a Komodo Dragon can do. Her skin is ultra thick, she can 'smell' with her tongue, and has a venomous bite amongst other things.**

"Hazel Camellia Aria, it's very pleasant to meet you," the tiny girl said, standing to bow slightly. The other girl stayed silent, but nodded a greeting to the newcomer. "I believe we were discussing our expectations for the first day of classes, yes?"

"Yep, it's just the first day, so I wouldn't expect anything too difficult," Diana stated, placing a scaled finger against her chin. The quartet continued discussing this topic, though it seemed as if Melody and Diana were to most vocal as Hazel and Rylee seemed content to stay quiet. Soon enough, Kira and Andi joined them. Five of the six girls in Class FH2, Clara had vehemently refused to join them, sat in the small leisure area of their floor for hours on end talking about their respective lives, Quirks, and what they expected from this class. As the sun was beginning to set, their topic of conversation turned to something a bit more serious than their previous ones. It was Kira that first posed the subject.

"So, why do you all want to be Heroes? I want to be someone who can save others!" The multi-haired girl proclaimed loudly. Andi was the first to answer, having finished her thinking the quickest.

"It may seem a bit selfish or stupid...but I want to be remembered. I want to do something huge that'll get my name into the history books among all the other great Heroes," She said shyly, obviously a bit self-conscious about her answer.

"That's not selfish. No one wants to be forgotten, even if its inevitable for some. My mom always used to say 'the best Heroes are the ones who history leaves behind'," Melody said, her voice taking on a slightly heavier tone when speaking of her mother. Seeing all eyes on her expectantly, she chuckled nervously. "Sorry about being preachy."

"Your mom, eh?" Andi grinned suddenly and slung an arm over the redhead's shoulders. "Now I know for sure. Clara said something about you being 'Crybaby's kid', plus I know that quote. You're Teardrop's kid aren't you?"

"Teardrop? The former Number Three Ranked Heroine?" Diana asked, her small eyes widening slightly. Melody nodded, looking a bit uncomfortable, so Kira tried to steer the conversation back to where it was.

"Why do you want to be a Hero, Melody?" Thankful for the change in subject, she wasn't quite used to speaking about her mother outside of her own home, much less around strangers. She took a moment to think about her response before something came to her.

"I want to be a Hero that can rescue people from even the worst disasters. That's what my Quirk is best at, so why not try and be the best at it, yeah?"

"Bullshit. You'll probably just be another reject. 'The best Heroes are the ones history forgets'? That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard." It was Clara. She stepped out from the small kitchen area with a bowl of some sort of pasta and smirked at Melody. "Well, my father always said 'How can you ever save someone if the only face you show them is blotted with tears?' Do ya know who he said that about?"

"Clara! That's enough!" Kira growled, jumping to her feet. Suddenly the air in the room got much hotter and an almost demonic red glow began to emanate from the girl's black eyes. However, this only seemed to egg the more muscular girl on and she set her bowl down on the counter before walking over and standing inches away from Kira's face.

"What was that, jackass? Why don't you sit your weak ass down before I put you in the dirt, sound good?" The rest of the room seemed frozen at the sight of their classmates preparing to come to blows, with the exception of Melody, who stood up and pushed the two apart, which was much harder than she expected. ' _What the hell does Seismos feed this girl? Jeez.'_

"Knock it off, you guys. It's probably time for us to turn in for the night anyway. We've only got a few days until school starts to get acclimated to our new home. Besides, the training facilities open up tomorrow, so if you want to blow off some steam just go and blow some stuff up, yeah?" Melody spoke hesitantly, trying not to escalate anything. For a moment it seemed the two hadn't paid her any heed, but then Kira sighed and turned back to the other girls with a grin.

"Melody is right! Plus I'm am tired from moving!" She proclaimed, not actually showing any signs of fatigue. Clara huffed and stalked off to her own room, while the others took the time to exchange goodnights before returning to their respective abodes. With the near crisis averted, Melody sighed as she trudged through the hall, discovering along the way that her neighbors were Hazel and Rylee. It seemed that because there were only seven female students from Class FH2, they had placed three in this hall and four in the other. Her room was pitch dark when she entered it, hiding the posters of Oddball, an elderly looking man in a massive suit of armor known as Crusader, and a rather large one of her mother in her 'Silent Cryer' costume. ' _Except for the wall color and carpet, this place isn't too different from home, I guess. I wonder how dad is doing. He's probably torn Anthony a new one at least twice by now.'_ Despite the near fight, the new dwellings, and the stress of meeting five new people, Melody fell asleep with a smile on her face.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **That definitely went differently than I first expected. Anyway for the date of All-Might's defeat, here's my explanation (could be very wrong)**

 **According to Google, a typical Japanese school's first term ends July 20 (starts in April) and the U.A. students had a week off before the summer training camp, which lasted three days (if you count the first travel/forest day) and then (SPOILER ALERT) another day after Katsuki was kidnapped. I could be wrong in this but meh, not overly important.**

 **If you have any questions, comments or concerns just review, PM, or email me (That's located on the OC submission page.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **THE TEDIOUS FIRST DAY!**


	5. Chapter 4: Tedious First Day

**Hey Everyone! Soooooooo, the final rosters have been decided and will be announced in this chapter, but there's a small thing I want to address first...maybe two...three or four…**

 **Anyway, firstly, while the final rosters have been decided I hate to say that not every character is introduced in this chapter (don't be angry I have my reasons!) The main reason for this (see?) is that I want the introductions to be more...organic? I don't think that's the right word for what I'm trying to say, but meh. I feel like too many SYOC stories rush the character introductions and just have the reader meet twenty people in a single chapter. I don't want that, so I will be introducing them over time. This also means that while we may see their Quirk and hear their name we may not see their true personality until later on. Don't forget we didn't really get to truly 'know' Kirishima until the sports festival (got a bit of him at USJ but that was only a snippet).**

 **Second, to those who are interested, I've posted a link to Melody's character sheet on my profile.**

 **Speaking of profile, I'm going to be putting up a poll that will be more explained at the end of the chapter.**

 **Alright, I think that's everything. To those of you who wanted to have a character in the main class, but didn't make the cut...I am really sorry. I know that might not mean much, but I chose the people I did for this class because I feel they will have good chemistry. This does mean that this class has multiple OCs from multiple people. Feel free to be angry, but in the end, I picked based on who would work with the story as a major role the best. Sorry again and don't worry. Class FH1 (or Class B if you wanna see it like that) is going to have entire Arcs dedicated to them.**

 **Okay, enjoy the chapter dudes and dudettes!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **August 20, 2317**

Melody awoke with a start as her alarm clock began to blare through the early morning silence. In her sleepy haze, she leaped off of her bed and slammed headfirst into a very solid object. ' _The heck? I don't remember the wall being that close...oh. Dorms, that's right. How long until I don't wake up and hit my head?'_ She thought, remembering a very similar instance from the day before when she slammed her forehead into the small mahogany nightstand on the opposite side of her twin bed from the wall. The red-haired girl, whose scarlet hair was twisted into knots from her tossing and turning during the night, stretched her arms into the air and yawned widely. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and, very slowly, pushed herself into a standing position. With one hand she rubbed the newly forming bruise just above her right temple, and with the other grabbed her basket of toiletries, before opening her door and stepping into the air-conditioned hallway.

"Hey~ Melody," a very tired looking Kira murmured as the two arrived at the shared bathroom at roughly the same time. The multi-haired girl was wearing a wrinkled set of black pajamas and carried a basket nearly twice the size of Melody's.

"Mornin'," the redhead greeted simply, still a bit groggy. When the two entered the room, a surprisingly large one at that they were greeted by the scowling face of Clara. The magenta-haired girl quickly shoved past them, muttering something along the lines of 'annoying crybaby brat' as she went. The two remaining girls looked at one another, shrugged, and separated to go about their normal routines. After they had both showered and brushed their teeth, the two stood in front of the wide mirror that spanned one whole wall of the room, attempting to tame their unruly hair, though as her hair was shorter Melody was having an easier time of it.

"So, Mel? What version of the uniform did you choose?" Kira asked excitedly.

"I just went with the yellow and black," she answered.

"Yeah, that makes sense. The blue is a bit too bold and the white is pretty blah. Yellow really works with your hair. I chose that one as well," Kira commented, wincing as she undid a knot in her waist-length hair. Just then, the pair heard footsteps echoing off the linoleum tile floor and watched as Rylee entered the room. Seeing the girl in her sleep shorts revealed two holes, similar albeit a bit smaller than the ones that lined the top part of her chest, on each of her calves. "Heya Rylee!"

"Kira, Melody. How's it going?" The blonde asked, nodding to each in turn, before stepping into one of the shower stalls lining the opposite wall of the mirror.

"Great!" The multi-haired girl replied.

"Better than I expected so far," Melody sighed. Having finally finished brushing her hair, she put it up into her usual messy ponytail and grabbed her basket. As she left the bathroom she bid farewell to the other girls and made her way back to her room. Once she arrived she quickly changed out of her black pajamas, covered with the insignia of the Hero Oddball. After rooting through the room's small closet, she pulled out a school-issued button-up blouse, in a pale yellow color, matching black and yellow striped tie, and a pair of brown dress pants. She slipped them on and grabbed the red messenger bag sitting beside her bed. ' _Okay. It's 7:53. I still have just about an hour to eat breakfast and get to class. Better get moving,'_ she reasoned, yanking open the wooden door and stepping into the hallway, only to be met with Kira and Andi. The former was dressed in a similar style to Melody, but with a black skirt instead of the tan pants, while the latter had the same skirt, but a blue blouse and matching tie. "Good morning Andi."

"Mel! You look great! You wanna go to breakfast with us?" The redhead nodded and the trio set off, leaving the dorms and making their way towards the imposing figure that was U.S.A.E.I.'s main academic building. "So, any idea what we're doing today?"

"I'm not sure. The acceptance letter said something about orientation but other than that, I haven't heard a thing. I don't even know who our homeroom teacher is," Kira, who was swiveling her head to try and take in as many sights as possible, said. Melody just shrugged her shoulders as she too took in her surroundings. ' _I really should have explored more. We had two days and all I did was worry about today. I can go for my run after school get out today and look around a bit more.'_

"Hey, Kira?" Andi suddenly spoke. Melody took one glance at the girl, saw the look in her eyes, and sighed. Over the past two days, she'd gotten to know the girl enough to know when her curious side came out. The multi-haired girl hummed and turned her attention away from a pack of third-year students sitting under a willow tree. "What's your Quirk? I know Melody can turn into a spooky ghost, Diana is a Komodo Dragon, and Clara has some sort of voice amplification, but I haven't been able to figure out yours or any of the other girls'."

"Huh? You're really that interested?" Kira asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. The antennae-eared girl nodded vigorously, holding her clasped hands up as if she was praying. "Okay, okay! It's called Pyroclasm. As for what it does...you'll just have to wait and see." With that, the multi-haired girl stuck out her tongue and began jogging away, with an irate Andi close on her heels. Meanwhile, Melody just smiled, letting her two companions leave her to her own devices. ' _8:15...you know what? Screw breakfast. I don't think I could eat much anyway so I might as well explore a bit.'_ With her mind made up, the redhead diverged from her path to the main building and started walking towards the marina. As she walked she saw a great number of students milling about the school grounds.

A small distance away from the wooden boardwalk that followed the entirety of the school grounds' boundary with the harbor, Melody sat down on a bench and began to observe. She'd always loved people watching, but something about seeing her fellow students conversing, relaxing or training their Quirks brought a sense of belonging to the girl. Not too far from her, she watched a small sparring match between two upperclassmen. One of the boys had a high collared jacket, even though it was a fairly hot and humid morning, and a large container of some sorts strapped to his back. He seemed to be surrounded by a fog of black particles. Facing off against him was a cocky looking boy who had springs where his calves should've been. Melody followed their actions with a vivid interest as the spring-legged boy kept a wide berth from the other boy, whose dark cloud whirled around him ominously.

Then the cloud started to move and a wave of nausea washed over the redhead as she came to a disturbing realization. ' _B-B-Bees? Crap, crap, crap, why the heck does someone have a Quirk like that? I'm just...gonna go to class. Yep, gotta be early on the first day!'_ Hastily, she shot up from the bench and turned to walk away as fast as she could without running, and it took all of her willpower to avoid that embarrassing scenario. Unfortunately, as soon as she turned around she slammed into a very sturdy object and fell onto her rear. ' _I gotta stop running into things,'_ she mused before glancing up at the object, which turned out to be a boy with vivid orange hair. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before extending a hand. "S-Sorry about that," she said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and smiling awkwardly.

"Hm...Afraid of insects?" The boy replied casually, his amber colored eyes still locked onto her, a spark of recognition in them.

"Af-afraid of–? No! Nope! Definitely not!" She exclaimed, shaking her head rapidly. The boy frowned at this and glanced over to the spar, where the bee wielding student was helping the spring-legged one up from the ground, with the latter swaying woozily.

"That's odd. When you were observing the fight between those two, your face paled and you tensed up when his insects began to move. I suppose maybe you could be afraid of people with springs for legs, but that's oddly specific of a phobia. Oh! Could it be that one of those men is a former lover? Someone you haven't quite gotten over yet and was planning to confess your feelings for, but backed out at the last moment?" All Melody could do was stare at the boy in shock, her jaw dropped as wide as it could go and her arms hanging limply at her side. Seeing her reaction, the boy smiled and snapped his fingers. "That's it then!"

"WHAT!" Melody bellowed, her face going crimson red as not only the two upperclassmen turned towards her, but everyone else in hearing range as well. The redhead sputtered an apology before turning her bemused look onto the orange-haired boy. "Where the actual heck did you get that from?"

"So that isn't it either then? I can't think of any other explanation as to why you would suddenly be so startled. Could it be a traumatic memory resurfaced? Just a general dread about the first day of classes? Are you sure one of those boys isn't some sort of jilted lover?"

"Fairly certain, yes. It, um, I was nervous thinking about the first day of classes, yeah!" Melody proclaimed, still slightly off-put by the boy's behavior and strange speaking pattern. It was as if he'd never held a conversation with someone before, despite the fact he seemed perfectly capable of talking her ear off. Seemingly satisfied with her answer the boy bowed low. ' _He's literally insane. It's my first day and I already met a psychopath. Dad always said Pro Heroes weren't all there, to begin with, but this is ridiculous.'_

"I am Lyon MacAllister. It is an immense pleasure to meet you."

"Um...I'm Melody. Nice to meet you?" Although the redhead's response was incredibly confused, the boy brightened and stood up from his bow, studying her with his amber eyes.

"You seem familiar. Perhaps it's the eyes, or maybe the confused expression. I have gotten that look a lot recently," Lyon said and unceremoniously began walking away, leaving a somewhat dazed Melody behind.

"The heck?" She murmured to herself. Sighing, she began walking away from the harbor, paying significantly more attention to her surroundings. ' _I don't wanna run into any more weirdos.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

In the end, Melody had made it to class with just five minutes to spare before the late bell. It hadn't taken much effort to find the classroom, as its door was marked with a large 'FH2' and a plaque beside it with the words 'Freshman Hero Class Two' inscribed in the metal surface. Entering the room was nearly as terrifying for the teen as the villain fight she'd experienced. With a deep breath, she'd pushed open the large door and stepped inside, only to be greeted by someone running into _her_ , sending both of them tumbling into a pile on the tile floor. ' _I guess this is...better.'_ "Oww."

"Oh, sorry about that," the boy who landed on her said sheepishly, brushing his indigo hair out of his eyes. At first, Melody wasn't entirely sure the boy belonged in the class. He more closely resembled a young middle-schooler than someone entering high school, mostly due to his short stature and boyish face. He offered her his hand and yanked her to her feet, visibly struggling as she was a few inches taller than him and, most likely, slightly heavier.

"No worries. I've made a bad habit of running into people, so it's fitting I'm on the other side every once and awhile," Melody said nonchalantly. She turned her glance up from the boy and was surprised to see much of the class' sixteen students still missing. Only ten or eleven of the seats were filled. "Where is everyone?" She muttered.

"Jeez, Andi! You almost made us late!" Even though they were still a ways away from the classroom, Melody recognized both Kira and Andi's voices as they argued. When they finally reached the classroom their disagreement continued as they found their seats, which were several spaces away from one another. As she sat down at her own seat, which was flanked by Rylee and a black-haired boy who seemed to be asleep, the weight of her situation hit her and she smiled. ' _This is my next first step. I can't believe I made it, out of the thousands of kids who applied I got accepted. All of my classmates and Nathan's class did as well. Thirty-two out of four thousand. This is incredible!'_ Her thoughts only made her smile grow and, soon enough, the bell signaling the beginning of class reverberated through the classroom.

"This is so~ exciting!" Kira cheered from her desk on the other side of Rylee.

"I wonder who our homeroom teacher is going to be?" A familiar looking boy with brown hair commented and it took Melody a moment to recognize him as the boy who'd saved her from Clara on the day of the entrance exam. A few others nodded in agreement and, slowly in the case of Kira and Andi, settled into an anxious silence as they awaited the arrival of their teacher. ' _Most of the teachers at this school are current or retired Pros. The principle was even ranked fourth I think when my Mom and Dad went to school here.'_ The minutes turned into ten, then fifteen, and twenty. Class was already about halfway over when the door creaked open and a man with dark blue hair stumbled in holding his head. He stopped suddenly and turned his head to stare back at the sixteen pairs of eyes glaring in his direction.

"Oh yeah, homeroom. Alright...uh sorry, I'm late. I had stuff to do last night and stayed out way later than I thought I would. Then I forgot to set my alarm and slept in and...you all don't care," He finished lamely. It took her a moment but Melody's eyes widened in surprise as she remembered him as the man who'd tested her in the entrance exam. As soon as she came to this conclusion, he turned his attention towards her and nodded. "Okay, let's get started. My name is Derrick Holl and I am will be your homeroom teacher. Hm, I suppose we'd better start with your schedules, then some general stuff, and that should take the rest of our time. Running a bit late today, eh?" ' _Wonder why that is?'_ Melody thought dryly, rolling her eyes. Before the girl could even blink, Derrick turned and whipped his dry erase marker at the girl, clocking her directly in the forehead.

"OW! What the-"

"No lip from you Halloway. Now, let's get started. For the most part, your class will be staying together in both general and Hero courses," the teacher began as Melody stared at him in shock. ' _Can he read my thoughts?'_ She could've sworn she saw him grin at this and her eyes widened. Derrick stepped away from the board and written on it was their schedule.

 _8:55-9:15 Homeroom_

 _9:20-10:05 U.S. History_

 _10:10-10:55 Mathematics_

 _11:00-11:45 Literature_

 _11:50-12:35 Chemistry_

 _12:40-1:25 Lunch_

 _1:40-3:45 Other_

"Alright. Pretty self-explanatory except for the last part. This two-hour block at the end of every day is reserved for Hero Studies. However, the subject matter will change every day. Monday you will be with me for Hero Training Simulations, Tuesday and Thursday you'll go with Mrs. Barthory for Hero Etiquette, Wednesday you'll go with Mrs. Honoka for Combat Training, and finally, Friday is the day reserved for you fledgling Heroes to work on the specialty you applied to this school to earn a license for," He explained, causing Melody to tense up slightly as he continued.

"There are three possible categories for this. First is General Hero, this refers to the everyday crime fighters you see patrolling the streets. They deal with everything from petty theft to hostage situations, so on and so forth. This usually holds the largest number of our Hero students. Mostly because these are the Heroes that get all the glory."

"Next up is the Support Hero course. This is by far the smallest and is really only applicable to those with Quirks that allow them to heal or buff up fellow Heroes. These guys are usually the most overlooked, but also the most important on a battlefield. Anyone tell me why? Oh...uh sure, knock yourself out." The moment he'd asked Andi, almost as if she'd been waiting on it, shot her hand into the air.

"Because they could mean the difference between life and death. For example, Heroes tend to get injured quite a bit, so healers are always in demand, or perhaps someone with a strength or speed boosting Quirk could help his fellow Heroes win an unwinnable battle. Although, these types of Heroes rarely crack the top fifty. I think Hermes is the only Hero currently within the top twenty-five with a 'support style Quirk'," Andi finished, a satisfied look on her face as she sat back down, leaving the rest of the class in shock and their teacher smirking slightly.

"Yeah...thanks for keeping most of that to yourself. We're strapped enough for time as is. Anyway, onto the final category; Search and Rescue." ' _This is me. I wonder who else I'm going to be with. Nathan is for sure going to pick General, he's too hot-headed not to want to fight. Maybe Andi will join me there. Her Quirk could be used to detect people and could make communication among rescuers easier.'_ Melody's thoughts were abruptly cut short when the sound of a throat clearing caught her attention. She looked up to see the blue-haired man again staring at her with a half-amused, half-exasperated look on his face. "S&R Heroes are usually first responders to a disaster site. Of course, this doesn't just mean natural disasters. As an S&R Hero, you will help with cleanup as well as your usual duties. When there is an incident involving Villains, S&R Heroes are always working behind the scenes to clear out as many civilians as they can while the General and Support Heroes cover their retreat."

Derrick observed his class for a moment before nodding to himself and walking to the back of the room. There he flipped one of the switches on a control panel embedded into the far wall, before leaning against it. The room immediately went dark, which prompted him to flip the second switch, turning on a projector hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. The front whiteboard lit up with a list of some kind, and it took Melody a few seconds to realize it was a list of her classmates. "This is the current class rankings. Your scores on the entrance exam were what made up the order for this list, even though they aren't listed. Those of you near the bottom don't fret, there'll be plenty of opportunities to dethrone those at the top. Consequently, those at the top...don't get too comfortable and never forget that if all you do is look to the top, you'll fall to those right underneath you."

 _1- Lyon MacAllister_

 _2- Andrew Abrams_

 _3-Clara Ramirez_

 _4-Narruk Mondronen_

 _5-Marcus McPherson_

 _6-Hazel Aria_

 _7-Alexander Blackwood_

 _8-Lyle Wolfbane_

 _9-Melody Halloway_

 _10- Andi Ena_

 _11-Sirius Wilsk_

 _12-Diana Suharto_

 _13-Rylee Ingram_

 _14-Eris Blackwood_

 _15-Kira Kazani_

 _16-Oliver Ferdinand_

All around the room, there were whispers, some excited, some irritated, but on her end, Melody remained silent. ' _I'm in the lower half. I knew that stupid writing test would get me. This is fine though. I have my starting point, so I know who I have to pass to move up.'_

"Congrats, Melody," Kira said, her head currently resting on her desk, where she had let it slam down after seeing her own placement. "Stupid physical exam, stupid two left feet, stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Don't worry Kira. The only place you can move now it up, right?" Melody asked, trying to cheer her friend up. It didn't seem to work as the girl just whined and raised her head up to slam it into the desk again, only for Rylee to slide her pencil case into the small gap, muffling the sound. The redhead smiled appreciatively at her, which was met with a nod as Kira picked her head up and rested it on her folded arms.

"Anyway, There's another little matter I'd like to address before we head to orientation. All-Might's retirement." Their teacher's words caused the whole room to tense up and look over their shoulders at him. Seeing that he had their undivided attention, he started speaking in a grim tone. "Despite the fact he is a Japan-based Hero, he still has had an impact here and around the world through his actions. Many current and upcoming Heroes only decided to pursue this career thanks to the image painted by All-Might. Now that he's gone, now that people know that the world's number one Hero could be bested, not only is the moral of our side going to drop but the arrogance of villains will rise alongside it."

"You're saying that more villains will start popping up here? For something that happened overseas?" A lanky boy with wild white hair asked incredulously.

"Think about it from the villain's perspective. Why do you think there would be a rise in crime with All-Might gone?" Derrick questioned, settling his gaze on the white-haired boy, who looked somewhat uneasy with the question. Then, to everyone's surprise, it was Lyon who spoke.

"The Symbol of Peace is no more. His mere existence made those thinking about doing villainous acts hesitate and rethink. Even here in the United States, All-Might was a respected and feared Hero, who had even helped with some of the country's worst situations when he didn't have to."

"Right-o, uh, Lyon MacAllister, yeah? That's essentially it, without All-Might, the worst of the worst are starting to crawl out of their caves. Things will only get worse from here," He stated. In no time at all, though, his foreboding expression turned to one of barely suppressed glee. "All right! Now it's time to get down to business. Everyone head down to Prep Room Four and suit up. You're all going into the Labyrinth!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Meanwhile, in the secret basement of a very prominent New York jewelry store, the villain known as Spitfire yawned before gazing at the crowd before him. ' _Jesus, Plague. Just how many people are you gonna recruit?'_ A myriad of different evildoers, from purse thieves to murderers, were gathered in the surprisingly spacious room. Beside him was a large chalkboard with drawings, writing, and burn marks from when the young man got frustrated. "Okay, we finally got Prophet's original plan fine-tuned. Instead of using our whole force as he suggested, I'm gonna lead a small strike team. We'll be able to move quicker and more stealthily and if we're caught it won't cripple the organization. Got it? Good. Let's see...Kaboom, Switcheroo, Barty, and Leech. Congratulations, you're with me."

As a small group of villains separated from the large contingent, Spitfire took one last look at the board and grinned wickedly, dark flames leaking from the spaces in his teeth. ' _They won't know what hit them.'_ He opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of flames that torched the chalkboard, leaving on a few words remaining through the burns.

Miller-Braun Support Industries

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Oooo Spooky. What could Spitfire be planning, hm? (Not obvious at all really)**

 **POLL INFO**

 **Hey dudes and dudettes, I mentioned a poll in the AN above so here are the details for it. Basically, do you guys want a bunch of "filler" chapters that aren't really filler chapters? Not the best way to explain it...well fudge it.**

 **SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW ABOUT NEXT CHAPTER**

 **The next chapter will include some battles. The detail of the battles is up to you guys. Either I can write it the way MHA did with their first battle training, or I can write out every battle as a way to introduce you guys to the OCs and their Quirks. The only issue with the latter is that with my current 4,000-5,000 word limit this would take anywhere from 4-8 chapters depending on how I write each fight. So if you want to influence this story head over to my profile and place your vote.**

 **Now that that's out of the way...**

 **NEXT TIME OF THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **A ROARING START!**


	6. Chapter 5: A Roaring Start!

**Sup dudes and dudettes. The poll results are in and the decision has been made. We will show highlights and quick look-ins on the other fights, while we will follow Melody's fight in its entirety...most of which will be shown next chapter.**

 **Now, as to why this chapter is going up at...9:15 pm est...well, I got home from work at 6 with only 1,700 words written. The reason for this is that I work in the shipping department of an online retailer and have been overwhelmed all week from all you jags Christmas shopping. If you bought anything on Amazon or Ebay this week...It's your fault this chapter is late (kidding...kidding). Anyway, this chapter is going to begin to show off the Quirks of many of Melody's classmates, but won't get too far into their personalities (With the exception of those in Melody's match)**

 **Speaking of which, you may be asking "Oh hey, Buixy! What process did you use to pick the groups for this challenge?" And to that, I answer...I randomized it.**

 **Then rolled a D20 to decide the minor fights.**

 **Anyway, I really hope you all enjoy! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or anything else just shoot me a PM, review, or e-mail.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Hey, Halloway. Hold up a minute?" Derrick Holl called as his students began to file into the hallway. With a bemused expression on her face, Melody stopped packing up her things and nodded to her teacher. Once the rest of the class was out of the room, the blue-haired man chuckled, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "You really remind me of her, ya know?"

"Sir?" The redhead asked, now even more confused.

"Harmony. She figured out my Quirk nearly as fast as you did." His words took a moment to register and when they did, her eyes widened. ' _Does...does he know mom?'_ The man nodded and leaned back on his desk. "Your mother was a very old friend of mine. I met her here actually. She was the one who got me interested in teaching in the first place. I was heartbroken when I heard about her."

"Yeah...I hear that a lot. It really makes me happy that she affected so many people like that. All I ever hear about her is how amazing or kind she was," Melody smiled, bowing her head. To her surprise, her teacher laughs heartily.

"Trust me, Harmony wasn't perfect. She had an annoying tendency of bottling up her emotions and exploding every few months." This made her smile drop slightly. ' _That...that sounds a lot like dad always says I am.'_ "Makes sense. I've always thought you would get the best of both of your parents. Only fitting you also get some of the worse. Don't take it to heart too much though."

"Uh...yeah. Guess I'm not used to hearing the bad about her."

"Everyone has demons kid, Harmony was no exception. Anyway, don't let me get you down before on your first day. I'm not really allowed to pick favorites...but if Teardrop's daughter ever needs someone to talk to about her mom, life, or school all she has to do is ask...or think I suppose. Anyway, get outta here, we've got work to do.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Alright. Before you head into the prep room, let me explain why we are here," Holl announced to the sixteen teens standing in front of him. Behind him was a metal door with the words 'Hero Training Prep Room Four' engraved onto it. "In the coming weeks, months, and years, you will discover that the 'Forge' isn't your average high school. Every year on the first day of classes it has become a tradition to test the new students capacity for Hero work. Each teacher has a different test they subject their class too, but mine may be the most trying. At most only four of you will pass this first test."

"Only four?" Andrew inquired with raised eyebrows. Beside him, Kira had a look of determination on her face while Melody tried to keep her expression neutral. ' _Crap. What kind of test is this?'_ She pondered. Just then Derrick smiled and threw open the door behind him, giving the students their first look at a room with sixteen cylindrical tubes lining the walls, eight on either side.

"The Labyrinth will be a test of your problem solving, combat aquity, and individual talents. You'll be randomly grouped up in fours and released into a large metal maze. Traps, deadends, and other obstacles will stand in your way. First one to reach the center of the maze passes. However, that is not the only way to win. If you are the last person in your group still standing you will pass as well. In accordance with this, combat and Quirk usage between students is not only allowed, but encouraged."

"FINALLY!" Clara bellowed and turned to smirk maliciously at Kira, who countered with a hardened glare. Seemingly unperturbed by the girl's outburst, their teacher turned and clicked a button on the wall next to the door. The creak of gears echoed throughout the room as the cylindrical tubes opened at the front, revealing sixteen mannequins with a variety of different costumes on them.

"Are those our costumes?" A boy with dark gray hair murmured, his eyes wide in shock.

"Grab your costume and suit up in a changing room, then meet up back here. Ten minutes, go!" Melody walked into the room and found her name and class rank illuminated over one of the mannequins in the back. It looked just like she had described it on her entry form. Most of the costume was a skin-tight, which she hadn't requested and was slightly wary of, red jumpsuit with white gloves and black boots. On the center of the costume's chest was a large 'SP' emblazoned in jagged writing. A blue bandana that would cover the lower half of her face completed the look. ' _The suit is breathable and feels soft. Oh! The gloves have the iron knuckles I requested! That's good, I didn't think they would allow that. Boots look pretty good and are...steel-toed? There's a request I didn't make, but I suppose it makes sense.'_ Taking the suit off of the mannequin took her a moment and when she got it off she had to find an open changing room. In total it took her just about five minutes to slip into the costume. Stepping out of the dressing room, she felt a bit self-conscious. ' _Note to self: next time specify a more loose fitting jumpsuit. This is so embarrassing.'_ She thought, her face turning red as she joined the small group of people who'd already finished getting changed.

"OH MY GOD! Melody you look great!" Andi cried, leaping over to stand before the redhead, who smile and shook her head sheepishly.

"You look much better. I really didn't want my suit to be so tight. It's embarrassing," she complained, crossing her arms over her chest, her face still as scarlet as her hair, making her classmate giggled at her dismay.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. I'm in a pretty similar situation," Andi said, looking down at her own costume. Like Melody, she the base of her costume was a jumpsuit, though hers was midnight black. Unlike the redhead though, she had a matching yellow miniskirt, vest, and boots, while a cyan-colored domino mask covered her eyes. "Oh well, at least we get to see everyone's Quirks in action. Especially Kira's...she can't hide it forever."

"Yeah, yeah. Stupid first-day test. I just hope I'm not in the same group as that Clara, she really makes my blood boil," Kira muttered, joining them with a pouty expression. Just like Andi, she wore a full black bodysuit, complete with black combat boots, however, the material used in hers seemed to be something different. It had a silkier sort of look to it. Around her waist was a small red and gold belt with several pouches attached to it.

"Okay, looks like that's everyone. I'd suggest you brace yourselves...this part gets a bit bumpy," Derrick announced as the final student re-joined the group. After giving them a moment to prepare for whatever he was about to do, the teacher flipped open a panel in the wall to reveal a control console. He typed in a code and the whole room began to shake violently, causing Melody to stumble slightly, while Kira completely fell over. Then the walls of the room began to rise. ' _No. The floor is sinking! We're going underground?'_ As the prep room slid further down, a massive chamber began to appear and in the center of it...was a massive maze with metal walls.

"Holy crap!" Melody exclaimed, and her surprise was shared by many of her fellow classmates.

"The 'Forge' has several underground training areas located on campus. Most of them are pretty deep, but this is the uppermost chamber," Derrick explained.

"How the hell do you make this?" A boy with dark brown hair asked, his normally tired-looking eyes alight with fascination. In response, their teacher grinned and started to speak.

"Most of these chambers were made by two former teachers, who went by MoleRat and Bolder, way back in the 2150s. When the school had expanded to the entirety of its land borders, they decided to expand underground. As I said, this is the topmost level, the ones underneath this are much, much larger and hold many different simulations you will be subjected to over the next four years. Any questions?" When no one spoke up, he nodded and motioned for the class to follow him as the lift finally stopped moving. He led them to a small area just outside the maze with a large video screen hanging from the reinforced metal wall. "Okay. Like I said, groups of four, win by searching or by fighting, only four people may pass. Got it? Good! Let's go, group one!"

"I'm so excited! Our first day and already I feel like a Hero!" Diana said with a grin, showing off her pointed white teeth. On the video screen, a picture of each student flashes by rapidly before the rotation stops and four faces appear.

"Andi Ena, Lyon MacAllister, Eris Blackwood, and Oliver Ferdinand, you're up first! Follow the arrow ways to one of the eight entrances to the maze. Once you get there, await further orders!" Holl told them. Andi shot Melody and Kira a nervous look before following the other four students. Soon, they disappeared behind a wall and the rest of the class began speaking amongst themselves, some in anticipation, some in apprehension.

"What's your strategy, Melody?" Kira asked suddenly.

"Find the center. My Quirk isn't the best in close combat, so it would be best for me to move quickly and find the objective as quickly as possible," the redhead muttered, reaching one of her hands up to fiddle with her hair.

"Yeah, from what I heard of your Quirk from Andi it's definitely an 'S&R' style one. This should be pretty simple for you then. You can just phase through the walls right to the center!"

"Kazani brings up a good point. The walls of this maze are reinforced with anti-Quirk measures to ensure someone like Halloway cannot go straight through them, Wolfbane can't melt them, or Abrams cannot levitate over them. Can't have you taking the spirit out of the maze," Derrick announced. Before anyone could dispute this, a loud horn echoes throughout the cavern. "Round one has begun!"

The large screen showed a large, live view of the four contestants. The brown-haired girl, who Melody assumed to be Eris Blackwood, grinned to herself and took off at a run into the maze, Andi began fiddling with the black extensions to her antennae ears, Oliver followed Eris' example and started running with long strides. "What is he _doing_?" Diana asked, her eyes focused on the final screen. Lyon was casually walking down one of the pathways leading from his starting position, smiling his admittedly creepy smile. Melody watched him waltz through the maze for the first few minutes of the maze until the class around her took a collective gasp. She glanced over and saw the beginnings of a battle between Oliver and Eris.

"Let's tango!" The female shouted excitedly, causing the black-haired boy to sneer. Eris winced slightly as she held up her wrist, from which a sharp, black object appeared and shot toward Oliver at a remarkable speed. "Black Bone Bullet!"

 **Eris Blackwood**

 **Her Quirk: Black Bone**

 **Her skeleton is made up of a black colored metal that is stronger than steel. She can remove and regrow these bones at will, but not without hurting herself.**

Oliver's pale yellow eyes narrowed as he barely managed to duck beneath the bone spear, which soared over his head and nearly hit a passing Andi, who jumped backward with a girlish yelp. Despite her miss, Eris continued grinning and held up her, now bleeding, wrist once again. "No worries! This one'll hit for sure!"

"Tsk. Irritating girl," Oliver mumbled to himself and reached his arm forward, wrapping it around a surprised Eris' midsection...fifteen feet away.

 **Oliver Ferdinand**

 **His Quirk: Rubber Body**

 **He can stretch his body out like a rubber band, though the length he can stretch to varies between body parts.**

"What the hell!?" The girl shouted. She attempted to struggle against the boy's grasp for a few seconds until he flexed his arm, causing his grip to tighten. "Let me go!"

"SICKNESS FREQUENCY!" Andi, who her opponents had seemingly forgotten, roared as her antennae began to vibrate violently. ' _What is she doing?'_ Melody wondered. That is...until Oliver's grip on Eris faltered and both of them retched on the floor of the maze.

"Damn, I'm gonna have to clean that up aren't I?" Holl muttered as he glared at the offending substance on the screen. Hearing the confused murmurs of his class, he sighed and started to explain. "With her Quirk, Miss Ena can manipulate radio waves. Imagine that she just used what was akin to a dog whistle that makes people throw up."

"Nasty," Melody said, watching as Eris and Oliver both turned their attention towards Andi. It was at this moment that the redhead looked over at Lyon's screen to check his progress. Her eyes widened when they saw him turn the corner into the middle of the fray.

"Ah, so this is where you all were. I've grown tired of this maze. Let's end this quickly, shall we?" The orange-haired boy grinned and held up his right hand, showing for the first time the small black tips of his fingers. He pressed his middle finger and thumb together and snapped. It was over in an instant as a typhoon of flames consumed the other three opponents.

 **Lyon MacAllister**

 **His Quirk: Pyrokinesis**

 **Lyon can completely control fire with his power, the only drawback is that he can only control fire he himself makes.**

The inferno he'd created swirled around the other three students for several moments before he waved his hand, dissipating it. All three of his opponents lied on the ground, completely out cold but surprisingly devoid of burn marks. ' _How in the world?'_ "He used his fire to form a tornado around them, and kept it burning long enough to use up all the oxygen inside. Pretty brutal, but I have no other choice but to declare Lyon MacAllister the victor of round one!"

"Jesus, that guy isn't messing around!" Kira exclaimed, her eyes wide and alight with intrigue. Melody nodded in agreement before grimacing. ' _There's absolutely no way I could stand up to him. Even if I got in close he could easily repel me with his fire. Hopefully, I don't get someone like that in my group. Who'd have thought_ that _guy would be so powerful. I suppose you can't judge a book by its cover.'_

"Alright! While group one is being looked after by our expert medical staff, let's get into the next heat. Take a look at the board to see who our next competitors will be!"

"He's getting way to into this," Melody said under her breath, getting an exasperated look from the teacher in return. ' _Right, he has some sort of mind-reading Quirk. I've gotta be careful what I say. Could someone get detention for just thinking? Argh! Melody focus!'_ Pinching her leg to escape from her own mind, the redhead turned to face the board and paled as her face passed, only for four different students to be ultimately chosen.

"Alright, Diana Suharto, Hazel Aria-"

"Hazel Camellia Aria!"

"Fine, fine. Diana Suharto, Hazel _Camellia_ Aria, Alexander Blackwood, and Andrew Abrams. You guys are up! Go find an entrance and prepare!" Holl announced, ushering the four students away into the path that led to the maze's eight entry points.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"GET BACK HERE HAZEL!" Diana bellowed as she sprinted after the smaller girl, who seemed to move at speeds too fast for any regular human to keep up with. In truth, Melody was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her. ' _She must have some sort of teleportation or speed Quirk. It's odd though, every time I blink it's like she moves further and further away from Diana. If she has a speed Quirk, she's moving way too fast to keep up with. But...it must have a cooldown or something, there's a stutter in between her steps.'_ The short-statured girl jerked around a corner and immediately stopped in her tracks, falling to the ground in an instant. Seeing this, Diana stopped and glared at the brunet boy walking towards them with his hand held up, palm facing the girl splayed out on the ground.

"You noticed then, Diana?" Andrew asked, a small grin on his face. The Komodo Dragon girl growled and leaped back a few paces. ' _This is bad. I don't have any long-range attacks. Best to retreat for now!'_ She thought as she turned to sprint away, only to freeze as another male voice spoke.

"Inserting Fire Core...Raging Blaze!" With his left arm transformed into a dragon-shaped cannon, Alexander let loose a wave of fire, though it was not as large or seemingly as hot as Lyon's. Nevertheless, the blaze hit Diana and she was pushed back, right into Andrew's gravity field.

 **Alexander Blackwood**

 **His Quirk: Mechanization**

 **He is more machine than human. With his Quirk, he can transform his arms and legs into cannons and when he inserts a specially made 'Core', can fire off elemental attacks.**

"Woah! That's a pretty cool Quirk, man!" Andrew called, a small grin on his face though his eyes showed an intense determination. The other boy simply glared at him and raised his arm again, inserting a small yellow-colored capsule into a slot on his shoulder.

"Inserting Lightning Core. Electric Misery!" From the cannon, a massive bolt of electricity discharged at Andrew, who grimaced and dropped his hand, diving to the side and out of the bolt's path. It was at that moment that Diana sprung and slammed her scaled fist into his gut, knocking the wind from his lungs. Hazel also used this opportunity to get up and dash off in hurry. While her attention was on Andrew, Alexander loaded a bright blue colored capsule and fired a freezing wind, causing the metal walls to become covered in frost. Almost immediately, Diana began to shiver violently and fall to her knees again. Back in the control room, Kira gasped.

"What the hell happened!?"

"She's a reptile and therefore cold-blooded. She can't regulate her own body temperature. Intense cold especially is bad for her. Plus the metal walls hold in the cold," Melody explained, her brows furrowed in concern for her classmate. The battle didn't last much longer, however, as not a minute after she had run off, a bell went off and Holl announced that Hazel had found the center of the maze first.

"Well-done. Minimal injuries...uh, MacAllister? Mind warming up Miss Suharto a bit?" Holl said, giving the violently shivering girl a concerned glance. The orange-haired boy nodded and snapped his fingers, forming a smaller version of his inferno from the first match that swirled around the dragon girl. That taken care of, the teacher pointed dramatically towards the screen again as the faces of the eight remaining students flashed by more quickly than before. Eventually, the randomizer stopped on four faces...and Melody's breath left her. "Melody Halloway, Sirius Wilsk, Rylee Ingram, Narruk Mondronen. Get going!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Okay, calm down. You've got this Melody. You know Rylee has some sort of steam Quirk, she said about as much when we were talking the first night. That Sirius kid is carrying a bat, so maybe some sort of strength Quirk? Then there's Narruk...I've got no info on him, so I'll just try to steer clear. Right, time to show off my stealth game!" She paced for a few more moments before a horn sounded and the door in front of her slid open. Hesitantly, Melody stepped into the maze and flinches at how the metal walls seemed to amplify the sound of her footsteps. Almost immediately, she heard the sound of fighting and paused. ' _Maybe I just go the other way. I don't wanna run into someone too early...or at all.'_

With her hands clenched, fingernails digging into her palms, the redhead forged onwards. ' _If I remember correctly, Nathan always told me to keep one hand on the wall at all times and you'll find your way out of any maze. Shouldn't be too difficult, right?'_ Almost as if the world were mocking her, the moment she placed her hand on the wall beside her, it began to rumble. The floor before her rose up and, from the ceiling, dropped a massive boulder. "Oh...great." The rock slowly began to pick up speed as it rolled down the makeshift ramp formed when the ground ascended. ' _Crap! Dangit! Friggin heck!'_ Melody thought as she frantically ran down a side hall, and watched in horror over her shoulder as the path she had first came from closed and the wall bent to allow the boulder to continue after her. She ran for quite a while until she stopped, out of breath, and facepalmed. "I'm...an...idiot." Gathering herself, she transformed into her Wraith Form and allowed the boulder to pass right through her, for a brief second thinking it would still crush her.

"What the heck is that!" A squeaky male voice asked, nearly making Melody jump out of her skin. Turning around she found herself face to face with an indigo-haired boy with wide red eyes. ' _This is that Sirius kid. Gotta be careful, I have no idea what he's capable of.'_

"Who cares! Let's get her!" A female voice roared from behind her. Melody watched as a large wooden sword passed through her ghost-like body and slammed into the ground. Whipping around, the redhead was shocked to see a girl she hadn't seen with their class beforehand.

"Epiphany! Weren't you watching? Her Quirk allows her to phase through stuff! You're Quirk is ineffective! Fall back for now!" Sirius yelled at the girl, who rolled her eyes and swung again at Melody, who was beginning to feel the strain of hold her Quirk this long. ' _Who the heck is this girl? Did I just miss her before? Either way, I've gotta put some distance between us, my stamina is almost spent, I've gotta recharge my Quirk a bit.'_ She thought, leaping away from the other red-haired girl.

"Who are you? I didn't see you before?" Melody inquired, trying to buy herself some time as her she reverted to her normal form.

"Oh! That's because I'm dead!" She replied with a manic grin, her hands clenching tighter on her wooden bat. When the redhead faltered slightly, her eyes widening, Epiphany giggled and jabbed her head back at Sirius who gave her a half-hearted glare. "His doing, he saved me and now I've gotta deal with him forever. It's very trying."

 **Sirius Wilsk**

 **His Quirk: Host**

 **With his Quirk, Sirius can absorb the souls of willing people and call upon them as both astral and physical forms. At the moment he only has one soul locked away.**

"Way to tell all our secrets, Epiphany!" The short boy cried, stomping his foot childishly. ' _He looks like Nathan's little brother! So adorable!'_ Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, Melody ran at Epiphany, who was distracted by her banter with Sirius and slammed her palm into the other girl's collarbone. The crimson-haired girl slid backward a few feet and, to Melody's shock, didn't appear to be at all phased. "Epiphany! Fall back! We don't know what she's capable of!"

"The same can be said for her! We've gotta seize the initiative!" The spirit replied, her eyes locking onto the other girl as she raised her bat, which began to grow and shift in shape. Melody lowered herself into her fighting pose and prepared herself for her opponent's attack. "Let's rumble!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Well, well, well. That was fun to write. I haven't honestly written too many fight scenes in my time, so I don't expect these are too good, but hey I'll improve in time. Anyway, a few notes.**

 **HAZEL ROLLED A 20 TO ESCAPE AND THEN ANOTHER ONE TO FIND THE END OF THE MAZE!**

 **LYON IS PRETTY GOOD, EH?**

 **RUN INDY RUN!**

 **Ahem. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Have a good one!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **THE SOUND HERO'S DAUGHTER!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Sound Hero's Daughter

**Holy hell this took forever. For some reason, I had so much difficulty writing this chapter and I don't know why. Anyway, this chapter concludes the Labyrinth mini-arc and next week we get to see some more of the classes of USAEI.**

 **Side note: F*** HER NAME IS CLARA NOT CLARE YOU MORON BUIXY! GODDAMNIT! I'm gonna change that immediately.**

 **IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: This is also the final week to submit characters for Class FH1, which is the secondary class. I've already gotten about twenty submissions and am going to have to make some hard decisions, but don't you worry. I am going to have almost if not all of the submitted OCs show up, most likely has Pro Heroes and Sidekicks. However, they won't appear until around Arc 7 or 8, which will be the Summer Internship Arc. Later this week (if I remember) I will be adding a list of all known characters, their Quirks if we know them, and a small blurb about them personality and history wise. I will also be posting the "Initial Arc Plan" in the Author's note to next chapter.**

 **I hope you enjoy. Feel free to review, PM, or email me if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Let's rumble!" Epiphany smirked and charged at Melody with her wooden bat, which glowed with a bright white aura, held perpendicular to her waist. To the red-haired girl's surprise, the bat elongated into a very sharp looking wooden spear. Trying to give herself some time to rest her Quirk, Melody darted just to the side of the blow and used her fist as a hammer into the other redhead's neck. Just like her previous attack, the attack landed but didn't seem to harm Epiphany, though Melody could clearly feel her blow connect. ' _This is bad. She can't be hurt? Think Mel, think.'_ She grunted when the blunt end of the spear connected with her stomach after she dodged another jab of the point. "That all you got?"

"You wish," Melody replied, matching the other girl's confident smirk. However, this was only a bluff. A coy tactic to hide the discomfort caused by the attack. ' _This girl packs a punch. Friggin' A, can't go back to Wraith yet. Remember dad's combat lessons. Just stay calm and look for an opening.'_ She thought as Epiphany landed another hit to her hip, making the redhead stumble slightly. ' _Granted he never did tell me what to do when I can't hurt someone.'_ Suddenly the spear began to glow a bright white and, to Melody's continued shock, morphed into a massive battle ax.

"Let's try this one!"

 **Epiphany**

 **Her Quirk: Wood-Make**

 **She can reshape and resize any source of wood. However, the strength of the altered form is determined by the type of wood used.**

"Don't give up yet!" The crimson-haired girl yelled as she raised the ax above her head and swung down, impacting the spot Melody stood just seconds before. Now inside of Epiphany's guard, the redhead hit the girl in the jaw with an uppercut and followed quickly with a slew foot. The spirit girl used the handle of her ax to catch herself, remain on her feet, and kick back at Melody, missing but managing to put off the girl's assault. ' _She's skilled with her weapon, but her hand-to-hand isn't as good._ _She's very good regardless, but if I could actually hurt her this fight would most likely be over...way to sound cocky Halloway.'_ Melody was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of wind whipping towards her and ducked just in time to avoid having her head taken off.

"Epiphany! Fall back!" Sirius called, clearly exasperated by the spirit girl's insistence on fighting. Clearly ignoring her partner, Epiphany took another swing at Melody, with the redhead barely dodging in time. The boy shouted at her again, making her sigh dramatically.

"Don't be so _Sirius_!" The crimson-haired girl yelled back, snickering slightly to herself as she forced Melody to take several more steps back.

"Haven't heard that one before," The indigo-haired boy muttered sarcastically. Distracted by their banter, Melody again managed to land a fairly solid blow to her opponent's chest with a kick, putting some distance but once again not causing any damage. ' _I'm gonna run outta gas soon if I don't deal with these two.'_ She thought bitterly and narrowly moved out of the way of another downward stroke of the wooden ax. This gave her a brief second to notice something crucial. ' _Wait...why aren't they attacking two-on-one? Even if he isn't much of a fighter, Sirius could land some hits while I'm distracted by Epiphany, yet he's just standing there. Think. Wait! Could that be it? This'll go poorly if I'm wrong but...alright, I need a distraction.'_ The redhead resolved as she shifted into her Wraith form to avoid another attack. Seeing this Epiphany hesitated in attacking, leading to a brief standstill in the battle. Suddenly though, a massive explosion ripped through the arena and a massive billow of white steam rose up from a point further into the maze. ' _Perfect timing!'_ Melody grinned widely and initiated her plan.

"Holy sh-" Epiphany began, her eyes opened wide as she stared at the steam cloud. She never even saw Melody coming until her fellow redhead had kicked the legs out from under her. Her balance lost, Epiphany swore and fell backward onto her rear, the blunt side of the ax clocking her in the head for good measure.

"Sorry!" Melody cried out over her shoulder as she darted towards Sirius, who was also looking at the explosion, his guard completely down. Without breaking her speedy pace as she socked him in the face. The small boy went down hard and Epiphany yelped in pain and grabbed the exact spot on her cheek where her host had been punched.

"Man, when you can actually feel it, that girl has a wicked right hook," the spirit girl said approvingly as she watched the redhead disappear deeper into the maze. She then sighed as her gaze turned to Sirius, who was still lying on the ground, still as a corpse. "Oi! Get up ya baby!"

"That hurt you know!" The indigo-haired boy cried indignantly.

"Yeah, yeah, excuses. Oh...oh! Pfft–" Epiphany began to laugh hysterically when Sirius turned to face her, revealing a large welt on the cheek where Melody's fist had connected.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody could only stare in awe at the scene before her. After she had run away from Epiphany and Sirius, she decided to head towards the explosion, since that looked like it was close to the middle of the maze. Seeing a very beat up Rylee explained the steam explosion from earlier, but Melody was shocked to see the boy with scars covering his exposed skin, Narruk, was basically unharmed. His only distinguishable injury was a small burn mark on his left arm. Suddenly his nostrils flared and his head shot over to stare at the newcomer. ' _Did...did he just smell me? What the heck is his Quirk?'_ Melody thought as she prepared to shift. The boy's sudden change in posture caught Rylee's eye and she followed his gaze, sighing in what the redhead thought was relief at the sight of her. "Melody? Glad you're here. Listen, this guy is extremely tough, so I think we should take him on together. We can go for the goal after he's out, otherwise, we don't stand a chance."

"Sure thing!" Melody called back to Rylee, who's very voice sounded tired and wounded. ' _I have no idea what this guy can do, but the best course of action would be for me to go on the attack and Rylee to support from distance. Whenever she attacks I can phase, plus she's pretty bad off. We just gotta figure out what this guy's Quirk is.'_ The redhead took a deep breath and stood straight up. "Alright! Rylee you-"

"Melody!" The steam Quirk user yelled in worry as Narruk cleared the distance between him and the newcomer in a fraction of a second. Before the girl could even think of turning into her Wraith, he had grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the ground. At her scream, Narruk turned his eyes, which seemed somewhat feral in comparison to what she'd seen at the beginning of the fight, on her. With inhuman speed, he dashed at her, which she countered by releasing a blast of pressurized steam from the holes in her chest. "Steam Wall!"

Unfortunately, her counter was in vain as the boy rammed into her, not getting a clear shot through the thick fog, sending her soaring into one of the metal walls of the labyrinth. The air left the brunette's lungs at the impact, her eyes closed and fists clenched. ' _Damn! I've sent everything I have at this guy. Nothing affects him. How the hell strong is he?'_ Rylee thought as she attempted to stand back up, only to fall back down and grit her teeth. "You fought well. Stay down."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"By reaching the center of the maze first, Narruk Mondronen is our third victor!" Holl bellowed as the scarred boy reached the center of the maze and slumped down against one of the walls, holding his head. The rest of the class was abuzz with excitement.

"Narruk and Rylee fought for quite a while didn't they?" Andrew asked over his shoulder to Kira, who nodded enthusiastically.

"That wasn't fighting, moron," Clara added flippantly, having overheard his comment. Her naturally loud voice drew the attention of most of the crowd, which caused her to try and glare at everyone simultaneously. "He was toying with her."

"Ms. Ramirez has a good point. Care to expand on what you said?" Holl asked, giving the girl a steady gaze, no doubt in response to whatever the magenta-haired girl thinking at that moment. She scoffed and shook her head before speaking again.

"If no one else noticed it-"

"He was holding back against her for most of the fight," Lyon cut in suddenly, giving Narruk an appraising glance.

"Hey, asshole!" Clara roared at the orange-haired boy, who completely disregarded her.

"Toying wouldn't be the word I would use, but in essence yes. He was toying with her," He explained, only causing the girl to become more enraged. "Anyway, the correct way to explain that fight would be to say he was holding back, pulling his punches, however, you want to put it. I daresay he would've won regardless, but the explosion trap set off by Rylee was the first wound he received which seemed to make his fighting style more...animalistic."

"Well said, MacAllister. Now, while Halloway and Ingram are taken to the nurse, you may wanna go as well Wilsk that was a nasty right you took, let's get onto the last match and then we're done for the day. You should already know who is up, but just in case...Clara Ramirez, Marcus McPherson, Kira Kazani, and Lyle Wolfbane. Let's end this one with a bang, eh?"

"Hey, Kazani." The multi-haired girl stopped in place and turned to look at Clara, who was looking at her with disgust. The magenta-haired girl shoved past her while muttering, "Don't hold back out there."

"O-Okay?" Kira murmured, looking at the girl with a bewildered expression.

"I believe she respects strength and is unnerved by that Narruk fellow, who seemed to show undaunted power," Lyon's silky voice supplied from directly behind the girl, making her jump. In response to her wide eyes and agape mouth, the orange-haired boy smiled lightly and looked towards the figure of Clara as she stalked towards the starting gates of the labyrinth. "She is quite confident at first glance, but upon closer inspection, her cracks begin to show. Although, I could just be reading her wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I've read someone without knowing all of the facts and been completely incorrect."

"Uh...thanks?" Kira said unsurely, not entirely certain what to think of the boy.

"Get going, Kazani! We haven't got all day!" Holl shouted from his place next to the video screen. The multi-haired girl swiftly apologized and rushed off to find an open gate.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

As Kira immediately found out...Marcus McPherson was insanely skilled. She had only been in the maze a few moments before catching sight of and attempting to ambush the grey-haired boy. This ambush attempt failed to put it simply. The moment she had tried to sneak up to him, her clumsiness reared its ugly head and she tripped over her own two feet, falling facefirst onto the metal floor. "Woah! That didn't feel very good. Oh! Hey...Marcus, right? I suppose this is the part where we fight!" When she received no response, Kira frowned and charged, her eyes glowing a bright red. The bottoms of her feet also began to emit a red aura and there was a small popping sound as her right foot connected with the metal floor and a boom as the ground beneath that same foot exploded and sent her flying towards the boy, whose eyes narrowed.

"Bad idea," he muttered, crossing his arms over his face to block her punch. To his, and everyone in the viewing area's shock, the punch had the same effect on his arms as her foot did on the ground. The boy slid back a few paces from the force of the explosion and grimaced at the smell of burnt flesh.

 **Kira Kazani**

 **Her Quirk: Pyroclasm**

 **Kira is able to produce superheated shockwaves from her hands and feet that greatly increase her movements and attacks.**

"How was that?" Kira taunted, though Marcus showed no sign of being perturbed. She charged at him again, her feet creating shockwaves with every step. However, as her fist neared his face for a second time, it was suddenly shot back in the opposite direction, nearly dislocating her shoulder in the process. "What the hell!?"

"My Quirk," Marcus replied simply.

 **Marcus McPherson**

 **His Quirk: Physics**

 **Marcus can absorb energy in any of its states and use it to power up himself, or repel others.**

"A man of few words, huh? That's fine. As long as you don't cry when I beat you!" The multi-haired girl mocked as she leaped forward and drew her fist back to punch. Once she saw his guard raise again, she dropped her fist and slammed her foot into his side, causing another reaction that sent Marcus crashing into a metal wall. The boy grunted in pain and glared at Kira, who had a snarky smile plastered on her face. "Still not going to say anything, Marky?"

"You're insufferable."

"There ya go! Progress." Just by his response, Kira could tell she was getting to him. Her eyes again started glowing a bright, demonic red and she bent her knees to take off on another assault. However, when she began her charge, with Marcus preparing himself as well, they were interrupted by a body being thrown by them. Said body, which Kira recognized as the fourth person in their group Lyle, bashed into the wall and fell to the ground.

"Little shit! Talk to me like that again!"

"Uh-oh. I know that angry voice," Kira practically sang, turning to face Clara, who as usual looked enraged. The girl had what looked like chemical burns covering the right side of her face and her arm on that same side. Blinded by anger, it took her a moment to notice the two other people in the room. "Hiya Clara."

"Shut up, moron. Alright, which one of you is next? I wanna get this over with quickly," the magenta-haired girl demanded, cracking her knuckles and neck. In response, Kira dashed forward and swung her left foot into a high kick. Seeing the attack coming, Clara smirked and ducked before slamming her fist into the girl's stomach. Kira grunted as she flew back several feet and crashed into one of the metal walls of the maze. "I told you not to hold back, Kazani. Are you really this weak? And don't think I don't see you dicking around over there, McPerson."

"Fiery Steps!" The multi-haired girl said as she took off in a Pyroclasm-enhanced sprint at the latecomer, who grinned wolfishly and took a deep breath, angling her head to be able to hit both of her opponents, something Marcus saw too late as his vision was blocked by the charging Kira.

" **Howl** **Bazooka**!" The girl roared. Just as the Pyroclasm user got close, the intensity of the shout increased to the point she could feel it shaking in her bones. Around Clara, the Quirk resistant metal of the labyrinth started to creak and whine. As the metal bent, creating a large dent in both the floor and walls, Kira was sent soaring into Marcus, but didn't stop until the both of them landed in a heap twenty feet away from their starting positions. She glared at the two of them with a look of reproach in her eyes. ' _Dad, I hate to admit it but you were right. Heroes are weak, pathetic. These idiots didn't stand a chance against me. He was right about that Halloway girl. Getting taken down in a single blow is shameful, no matter how strong your opponent.'_ The girl thought as she stalked deeper into the maze, her rage building with every wrong turn. She growled when she realized that her father had popped into her thoughts again. "That sonofabitch, get outta my head."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Two Days Ago**

"So, you're leaving, then?" Richard Ramirez inquired from his seat behind a large, neatly organized desk. Standing in front of him, Clara sneered and pulled up the handle on her suitcase.

"Yep. Bye."

"Not so fast, Clara." The very sound of his voice caused the magenta-haired girl's blood to boil with hatred. She kept her back turned when the sound of his cushioned chair sliding back across the wood floor echoed throughout his study. His heavy footsteps grew closer, and consequently so did her breaking point. ' _Just let me leave already. The sooner I get out of this house the happier I'll be.'_ She almost lost her cool when she felt his large hand clamp onto her shoulder and his opposite arm come swinging around with a pair of pictures. The first photo was one Clara had seen many times in the past. In it stood her father and a black-haired woman with very vivid green eyes. The second photo had a nearly identical girl, only with red hair instead of black and also appeared to be ten years younger. "That traitor Teardrop's daughter. I have it on good authority that she is not only in your year but in your class as well."

"So?" She asked hotly.

"None of your attitude. Back to the point, I want you to grind this girl into the dust. Without a doubt, she is just as useless as her mother. People like this need to be taught early that they aren't meant for the Hero world."

"I suppose you would've told Teardrop that yourself if you weren't so busy sucking her face." The second the words left her mouth, Clara regretted the words, only for the reason that she hated what happened when her father got angry. Luckily she managed to brace herself in time for the blow to her stomach, a reaction she had honed over the years, though it didn't do much to stop the air from being forced from her lungs.

"If you ever say that again, I won't hold back in our next training session." As tough as she acted, this threat legitimately scared her. In training, her father was relentless enough as is. When he didn't hold back the aftermath would certainly leave her sore for the next week. She stiffly nodded and straightened back up, trying not to show any sort of evidence that she was in pain. "Speaking of training, I expect you to not only keep up with your classwork but also report back here every single Sunday for a session."

"Yes...sir."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"What the hell. Where did that little scab run off to?" Clara snarled as she hunted for Lyle Wolfbane. After she had made sure both Marcus and Kira were down for the count, both bleeding profusely from the ears, she had noticed the boy from earlier had disappeared and immediately began hunting for him. "I swear to everything that is holy I will rip the little bastard limb from limb for making a fool of me. Cowardly opossum."

"That's it! Lyle Wolfbane has made it to the center of the maze! That makes him our fourth and final student to pass. Anyone, uh amongst the four of you left, who is injured please report to the nurse's office with the rest of them. Other than that, take the rest of the day off to recuperate before tomorrow when real classes begin. Lunch will still be served at the normal time for those of you interested. Great work today!" Derrick's voice called over the intercom system. For a moment, Clara simply stood there, frozen, before swearing under her breathe and punching the nearest wall, resulting in a resounding thump.

"HOW THE HELL DO I GET OUT OF HERE!?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody's head felt fuzzy. ' _What the heck happened? Where am I?'_ She thought, moving her hands slightly and felt a very comfortable, cool sheet beneath her. ' _Last I remember...Narruk was rushing me. I couldn't even shift in time.'_ The girl rubbed her throat with one hand, wincing when she made contact with it. "It'll be bruised for the next few days. I had to wait until you woke up to use my Quirk, so excuse the pain," the feminine voice of the school nurse said as the pink-haired woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, pushed aside the dividing curtain. Seeing Melody staring at her inquisitively, she laughed lightly. "My Quirk is Painkiller. It allows me to remove any sort of pain that my patients are feeling, the reason I had to wait for you to wake up is that it's easy to become addicted to my Quirk in large doses."

"O...kay," Melody croaked out, grimacing as her throat seized up. The nurse walked over and placed a splayed palm on her neck. To the girl's immense surprise, the pinkette's hand glowed a soft teal and the pain in her throat immediately vanished. "T-That's incredible!"

"Why thank you. You were my last patient, so feel free to take it easy for as long as you need before heading back to the dorms. I've gotta go have a word with that idiot husband of mine. Putting you kids through something like this on the first day of school? Absolutely asinine." She sighed, reaching her arms up to straighten the loose bun holding her hair out of her eyes.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Holl I assume?"

"Call me Leena. The less I'm associated with my moronic husband the better. He's probably hiding too, I know he can easily hear from this range. He'll have to come home at some point, then I can let him have it. You hear me, Derrick? You are sleeping on the couch," The woman muttered as she exited the room, leaving Melody, who could barely contain her laughter, behind.

"That was close," a masculine sounding voice spoke up suddenly as the curtain on the other side of the redhead slid open to reveal her teacher.

"Mr. Holl?"

"I've found it's best to just hide underneath her nose. She never looks here _and_ I got to make sure all my injured students were okay. Uh, anyway...good work today Melody. Narruk told me to tell you he's sorry, Kira and Andi also seemed pretty worried. You've made friends fast," the man observed as he also made his way out of the room. "Make sure you hang onto those who are worth it. Never let something stupid come between you and a close friend, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Melody stared at her white sheets in confusion until the man's footsteps faded into silence. ' _Did...did he mean mom? He looked so sad...I wonder what happened between him and my mom.'_ The redhead sighed as she lied back and started counting the small dots that covered the ceiling panels, trying to get her mind off of the events of the day. "I guess it wasn't such a bad first day. That Narruk guy is uber strong, glad I got to fight him, despite the outcome. I wonder how Kira's fight did. She'd have been up against...oh, oh no I hope she's okay. Maybe Clara got taken out before they even fought. That Marcus guy might be strong, he seems pretty intense. I can't say much about that Lyle, though." Her musings were suddenly cut off, however, as the sound of very heavy footsteps reached her ears. "Uh-oh."

"MY DEAREST MELLY! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

"DON'T YELL IN A FRIGGIN SCHOOL YOU MORON!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Not much to say here, soooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

 **NEXT TIME ON PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter Seven: What's in a Name?**


	8. Chapter 7: What's in a Name?

**Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey yooooooooou guuuuuuuuys! What's going on? It's that time of week again, so let's get into the Author's Note. This should be a fairly exciting chapter as we meet several new Characters and see into Melody's school life a bit more when the classes don't include gladiatorial combat.**

 **First off, I just want to sincerely thank every single person that has ever clicked on this story, even by accident. We've reached over 3,000 views, which is something I never thought was going to happen this quickly. My last story on here (That has since been deleted as I didn't like it too much) was up for six months, had just three thousand fewer words, but only a fourth of the views, a fifth of the follows and favorites, and a TENTH of the reviews. You have no idea how much this means to me, so again thank you.**

 **Second, in response to this, I've gotten a bit more confident as a writer. As such, I kinda want to start a side story (Probably not an MHA one as I want to branch out) that would take a heavy backseat to this, but would help to improve my writing skills even more. So, I've got a few ideas and I want to have you guys pick. I'll probably post a poll not too long after this chapter goes up, but the choices I have in mind right now are:**

 **-A Soul Eater SYOC Fic which takes place seven years after the fall of the Kishin (This will take place in the Anime universe as it works better with my plan)**

 **-Another MHA story following a boy in Japan who wants to go to Yuuei, but ends up going to Shiketsu. This would take place in the MHA Cannon.**

 **-A Marvel story (under the Avengers Movie Tag here on Fanfic) that follows an altered version of the hero known as Nova that I will adapt to fit into the MCU (it would take place after the events of Infinity War)**

 **-Finally, a Pokemon story following an OC as he journeys through the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald game (Thought I will change quite a bit)**

 **Honestly, I probably shouldn't start up another story while I'm having trouble finding time to write this one, but my thinking is that it helps me not get burnt out from writing this main story. If I ever feel as if I'm starting to get irritated or don't have enough ideas, I can write for this other story to get my mind of this one and help inspire me.**

 **EDIT AS OF...AN HOUR AFTER THIS WAS FIRST POSTED. THERE IS NOW A POLL FOR THIS LOCATED ON MY PROFILE. VOTE!**

 **Third, I've seen other authors do this, but do you guys want me to start answering reviews in the Author's notes? I would definitely put it in the bottom one, but I feel as if this would help me connect with you guys a lot more and, tbh, I haven't been answering enough reviews and I feel bad.**

 **Finally, as promised, Here is the current Arc List going forward. Note that a few are marked EMPTY SLOT as I currently have no ideas of what to do in between specific arcs (Feel free to give me ideas on that it's greatly appreciated) and some are HIDDEN because….I'm mean and don't wanna give away future plot points. Now this list is subject to change, which I will alert you guys too and update this list (I may put it on my profile, but I'm soooo lazy).**

 **PART ONE: THE SPARK**

 **1\. Prologue Arc**

 **2\. Rocky Beginnings Arc**

 **3\. Darkness Rises Arc**

 **4\. Class FH1 Beginnings**

 **5\. EMPTY SLOT**

 **6\. Halloween Festival Arc**

 **7\. EMPTY SLOT**

 **8\. HIDDEN**

 **9\. Mid Term Exams Arc**

 **10\. Call of the Order Arc**

 **11\. HIDDEN**

 **12\. HIDDEN**

 **13\. Ashes Arc**

 **14\. Year One Final Exams Arc**

 **Phew, that was a lot. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please feel free to review, PM, or email me. Thanks again for 3000 views!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"MELLY! HOW COULD YOU LOSE SO EMBARRASSINGLY!?" Carlyle roared, his voice reverberating throughout the empty hallways of the U.S.A.E.I main academic building. The redheaded girl scowled and kicked him hard in the shin, making him yelp in pain and hop on one foot as he held the other. "What was that for?"

"You can't yell in a school moron! Jeez, sometimes I feel like _I'm_ the parent," Melody murmured. Her father pouted for a moment before grabbing the girl and slinging her over his shoulder. "H-Hey put me down!"

"No yelling in school, Melly dear," he said with a cheeky smile. "Anyway, while I have the chance I wanted to talk to you about maintaining your training."

"Well, I plan on doing my usual routine after school and on Saturdays Nathan and I are going to have a joint training and sparring session," Melody explained. Carlyle nodded and hummed thoughtfully. ' _Even with that, she won't be able to master her complete form for a while. At that rate, it'll be two years until she can use it without consequence. That's not soon enough.'_

"You're SLACKING!" The man bellowed, pointing his finger accusingly at his daughter.

"What!?"

"The only way to improve is to increase your training by threefold!," He said matter of factly. "The fact that this Narruk boy defeated you in a single move seemingly without using his Quirk is laughable. It shows just how much room you have to grow."

"Dad, you do know I have homework as well, right? I can't spend every waking hour just training, my grades would suffer."

"Then you must find the balance. Now then, I should get going. I left Anthony in charge of the store and if he hasn't screwed up a single time I've said I'll give him a raise!" The man proclaimed loudly as they reached the main entrance hall.

"You aren't really gonna give him a raise, are you?" Melody deadpanned, looking at her father with an expression of annoyance. ' _You look so much like your mother when you do that it's honestly terrifying."_

"Nope!" He guffawed, sprinted away towards the front glass doors, leaving a bemused and slightly irritated Melody behind.

"You dunce," she mumbled. With her father gone, her wounds healed, and a rumbling in her stomach, the redhead decided to go back to the prep room and change back into her uniform. A few wrong turns later she arrived at the room and grabbed her bag and school uniform from one of the lockers situated along the far wall. ' _Well, today certainly was an eventful first day,'_ she thought as stepped into one of the changing rooms and stripped off her Hero costume. ' _It was fun to see everyone's Quirks in action, especially that Lyon guy. For a creepy dude, he really has a strong Quirk from the looks of it. Much more powerful than mine, and he took down Andi and the others so easily. Then that Alexander guy, he just looks like he would make a super powerful Hero, and his sister seems nice, I wonder why I didn't see her in the dorms yesterday or the day before.'_ Finally dressed back in her school uniform, she pulled out her cell phone, which was covered by a case that looked like a fluffy cat, and seeing that it was nearly time for dinner, sighed and resolved to go back to the dorm. However, as she made to leave her changing room, a buzzing sound near her left ear sent a shiver down her spine.

The moment the redheaded girl saw the small, yellow and black bee that was resting on her shoulder, she shrieked and leaped out of the stall, falling face first onto the floor. "Woah! You alright there, kid?" A familiar voice asked. When Melody raised her head she was surprised to see a boy with bleached blond hair and brown eyes. "Oh hey! I know you. You're one of them kids I proctored during the entrance exam."

"Uh, yeah. Dominick, right? Sorry for that, I just saw...something and got a little freaked out," she explained, still trying to calm her breathing as she got up from her prone state. The boy nodded in understanding and looked over his shoulder at another boy, one who Melody hadn't even noticed was standing there watching them.

"Damnit, Hector! I told ya to keep those little vermin under wraps!" Dominick shouted, though the other boy hardly flinched. It took Melody a second, but the high-collared jacket and wavy brown hair jogged something in her memory. ' _He's...the guy from this morning. The one who was sparring near the marina.'_ The boy simply stared back at the two of them with dull gray eyes. "Sorry 'bout him. He likes givin' them bees of his a bit of freedom when its just him and his friends. Guess he didn't notice ya."

"I-It's okay. I, uh...I should get going. Some of the other girls are waiting on me and-" The redhead trailed off as the sound of a steady buzzing reached her ears. She looked back over at Hector with an expression of confusion. Noticing this, Dominick grinned and walked over to the other boy, slapping him on the shoulder.

"That's just Hector's Quirk. He calls it 'Beekeeper' or somethin' like that. Gives him control over the bees that make their hive in his body. Somethin' to do with pheromones and electronic waves, or whatever. Doesn't make him the most popular guy out there though, so I took pity and hang around with him!"

"I have asked him to leave four hundred and sixty-three times since our freshman year," Hector said, his voice monotone. His statement seemed to give Dominick pause, but then he laughed and slung an arm around the brunet's shoulder.

"He's a kidder! So Melody, what're you doin' here so late? Your first day, right?"

"I was injured in our test today," she grumbled, suddenly finding the bottom left corner of the room very interesting as her cheeks glowed red.

"Lemme guess, Mr. Holl? Yeah, Hector and I had him in our first year. Had to fight each other in the Labyrinth. Come to think of it, I kicked your scrawny butt in that fight," Dominick said cockily. The other boy glared at him, which caused the blond to laugh. "He never stood a chance against me. I just made his bugs...disappear."

"Disappear? How'd you do that?" Melody inquired.

"My Quirk. It's called Spatial Distortion."

"What does that entail?" Melody asked, thoroughly enthralled.

"It means I can manipulate space. So like, I can send stuff to different places, or teleport and stuff like that. Apparently, once my Quirk reaches its peak, I could create a portal here that leads directly to Dubai, Tokyo, or Hong Kong. Places all the way across the world," he explained, a massive grin plastered to his face.

"That...that's incredible! So if someone fired an attack at you, you could send it right back at them? That would be incredibly useful in dealing with multiple villains at once, not to mention if one of them had a Quirk that could hit multiple targets you could use it against them."

"Holy shit. I never even thought of it like that! Usually, I just send their attacks into the ocean or whatever. I never thought of using it like that. You're a genius!" Dominick exclaimed. It was at this moment that Hector intervened.

"Dom. I believe that if we wanted to get in our spar before supper, we would have to leave now. Please excuse us," the Beekeeper said, dragging away the blond, who was having a fit trying to get away. Now alone, Melody pulled out her phone to check the time. ' _Nearly five o'clock. I should get going now...Oh? What does Nathan want?'_ She wondered as she opened up her messaging app.

She grinned, as she usually did, upon seeing the picture she had assigned Nathan in her contacts, a very sad looking kitten with a hat, before actually reading his message. _Hey Mel, we still on for training this weekend?_

The redhead smiled and messaged back. _Yeah. Meet up around eleven?_

It took a few moments, but soon the words 'Furball is typing' appeared at the top of her screen and, a second later, a new message arrived. _Oof, can't we shoot for...like three?_

Rolling her eyes, the redhead tapped away at her screen as she walked. _And you say I'm lazy. We train at eleven. Anyway, how did your first day go?_

His reply took a while to appear, but when it did it seemed like he'd written an entire paragraph. Melody shook her head and put away her phone without bothering to read any of it. She exited the academic building and was assaulted with the humid, late summer air. ' _I can't wait for fall.'_ As she walked across the campus towards the girl's dorm, she began scrolling through various news articles on her phone. ' _Violent crimes are still on the rise. Even Overgrown has come out of hiding to help out. Mr. Holl was right about what he said, without All-Might people seem more confident in doing evil acts. The entire world revered All-Might as a nearly omnipotent being, I guess it's no surprise they don't know what to do when he's gone. It's only a matter of time until something big happens.'_ The sudden shout of a female voice brought the redhead out of her thoughts. "MELODY!"

"Oh, hey Kira. What's up?"

"MELODY, I CAN'T HEAR YOU. SPEAK UP!" The multi-haired girl yelled, despite the fact that the two girls were now just an arm's length apart from one another. Confused, Melody looked towards Andi, who was standing silently by the girl's side.

"She got caught in Clara's Quirk. It nearly busted her eardrums, so she won't be able to hear until at least tomorrow morning. Luckily Clara isn't as strong as her old man, he isn't allowed to use his Quirk in the city limits anymore because of how many windows he breaks."

"Probably a good thing. How's everyone else doing?" Melody asked, causing Andi to sigh.

"For the most part, everyone is excited about their first day here, but some people just can't seem to get over the fact that they lost. Clara is by far the worst though. She won't stop complaining about how she lost."

"I suppose that's to be expected," Melody said as the trio entered the girl's dorms. There was a strong, mouth-watering smell emanating from the dining area that made the redhead's stomach rumble loudly. "Let's go grab some grub."

"I hear ya."

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS SAYING!?" Dinner for the three girls was spent talking and laughing with the others. After their plates had been cleared and two junior girls had volunteered to do the dishes, Melody excused herself to do her evening training, which involved a lap around the entire campus, various aerobic and anaerobic exercises, and sitting on the grass keeping her Quirk active for as long as possible. It was during this meditation of sorts that she heard heavy footsteps approaching her.

"I would've thought you had adopted the crybaby's Quirk. Imagine my surprise when you start turning into...this," Clara growled, motioning to the redhead's current ghost-like form. "You nearly had me tricked when you beat that shrimp and his ghost. Then you got schooled by that Narruk guy. You're weak."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Melody said, still concentrating on her meditation and trying to drown out the angry girl before her.

"I expected more. I know my father hates your mom, but she was the third-ranked Hero for a reason. Get stronger, or else you're just sullying her name, got it?" The magenta-haired girl took one last look at the redhead before scowling and walking away. ' _That was...odd.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The next day went by surprisingly quick in Melody's mind. By the time she sat down in the cafeteria next to Kira, her tray ladened with various food items, she barely felt any of the wear and tear she had felt back in middle school. "So Melody, what'd you think of our classes so far?"

"Very interesting for our first real day," the redhead commented.

"I knew we were going to have former Heroes as our teachers, but I had no idea they'd be this normal," Andi added.

"I thought Mr. Holl was scatterbrained, but Ms. Whittaker has him beat by a country mile," Diana said as she took her seat on the other side of Melody. ' _Elvira Whittaker, also known as The Southern Hero: Roundup. She has quite a reputation for capturing villains. I was so excited when I found out she was a teacher here, she's one of my favorites. Thank god I didn't fangirl when she introduced herself.'_ The redhead reflected as the group of FH1 girls, surprisingly including Clara who sat down next to Eris, continued to talk about their classes and teachers.

"That Mr. Tanaka seems pretty chill, yeah?" Kira said, picturing the man with green and black hair who had surprised the class in his introduction by performing a sleight of hand magic trick.

"We have Hero Etiquette after lunch right? Any idea what we'll be doing?" Melody inquired. Her question received a number of shrugs and confused looks. "So no one has any idea?"

"Something to do with the etiquette we've gotta show as Heroes?" Kira guessed, receiving a snort from Clara.

"No shit idiot."

"Language," Melody responded, not turning her attention away from her chicken sandwich. ' _This is such a welcomed break from dad's greasy food.'_

"I assume we are going to learn proper conduct for our lives as Professional Heroes," Hazel said.

"Is everyone just going to ignore the fact that Melody just said 'language'?" Clara asked with a snicker.

"Shut it, it just slipped out," the redhead grumbled. As Clara opened her mouth to further make fun of Melody, the Wraith user was saved, quite literally, by the bell. The girls all dropped off their trays and began walking to class as a group, with Clara staying a few steps behind them, far enough to where she could make a snarky comment, but no so close as to invite anyone to talk directly to her. Room two-seven-five, the classroom designated for freshman Hero Etiquette, was located just down the hall from the cafeteria, so the trip was fairly quick. Once they entered the room, Melody was surprised to see yet another familiar face. ' _She proctored the written exam.'_

"Welcome class, my name is Rosapast Barthory and I will be in charge of teaching you how to act as Professional Heroes," the rather strict looking woman greeted as soon as the class was filled and everyone was in their seats. "Before we begin, I feel I should make my position clear. In our modern world, the Hero industry is over saturated. What I mean by this, is that there are far too many Heroes, many of whom have abandoned the ideals set forth by the word Hero. In this class, you will learn how a Hero should speak, act, and portray themselves in the public eye. Today is perhaps the most important class you will have all year."

"Is she serious? It's the first day!" Kira groaned from her seat next to Melody. For her own part, the redhead stayed silent, contemplating what Mrs. Barthory meant.

"Who can tell me what the most treasured possession every Hero has? You there, the one who was whispering."

"Uh, a Quirk?" Kira replied though she sounded unsure.

"No. A Quirk is important, but I am speaking of a Hero's most important treasure. How about you?"

"A simple answer," Lyon said, his face still fixed with that odd smile of his. "Their identity."

"Very good. The identity of a Professional Hero is a closely guarded secret that shouldn't be revealed to anyone the Hero does not trust. In today's class, you will each choose a codename to be used whenever you are in your Hero costume. This includes during class activities to help you become used to them. Now, I am going to give you ten minutes to deliberate with yourself. At which time, I will begin calling on each of you to tell your codename to the class. Talk quietly amongst yourselves, the ten minutes begins now."

"Codenames!? Yes, this is gonna be epic!" Andi proclaimed excitedly, getting an impatient look from the teacher at the volume of her voice.

"I know right! I've been thinking of this since I was a kid," Kira said, her cheek resting on one of her hands. Melody grinned at the eccentricities of her friends before frowning slightly. ' _Dad told me about this. A Hero's name is so important because knowing their true identities could be dangerous. Vengeful villains could easily track down your family if they knew who you were. It's the main reason mom had me take dad's last name. Even if they knew her identity, they wouldn't be able to track it back to me and dad, which...I guess is lucky considering…'_ Melody cut herself off of that train of thought before she became too depressed and instead turned her attention back to the task at hand. ' _This should be easy. I've had my name picked out for a while now. I guess it'll be fun to hear everyone else's though. This could help me identify some of the Quirks in this class I don't know yet, like Narruk or that Lyle kid.'_

"That's it. Time is up. Andrew Abrams, yes there you are, you will go first. Stand and tell the class your Hero name. We will continue down the line in alphabetical order until everyone has gone." His name having been called, the brunet boy stood and spoke loudly, a fair amount of pride in his voice.

"My name is born from the desire to be a shining light for mankind. As a Hero my codename will be Beacon," Andrew stated. ' _Huh, not what I was expecting, but he has a pretty solid reason.'_

"Very well. Hazel Aria-"

"Hazel _Camellia_ Aria," the girl corrected, only to receive a scathing look from the teacher.

"Fine. Hazel Camellia Aria, stand and tell us your name." In her seat, Melody leaned forward a bit, interested to see if the girl's codename would reveal her Quirk.

"For now I would like to go as Hazel. I have not yet decided on a Hero name quite yet." As Rosapast nodded and allowed the girl to sit back down, Melody grumbled slightly. ' _Crap. I'll find out in our next training session.'_

"You still have time to decide on your codename, so don't feel as if you must pick one immediately. Alexander Blackwood, if you please," she said, prompting the tired looking boy to stand.

"I'll be Metal Hydra," he stated simply before sitting back down. ' _That's an interesting name. I understand it though when he uses his Quirk_ , _his arms transform into cannons, which I suppose kinda look like some sort of dragon-like creature.'_

"Eris Blackwood, a sister I suppose, you're next."

"Alright! Listen up, I'm gonna be the Hero: Dark Spear! Get it? Because my bones are black?" The brunette proclaimed happily, making a large black, sharpened spear split through her skin to prove her point. ' _I wonder how many people noticed her pained look when she did that. I think her Quirk hurts her as well.'_ Melody observed, a sad look coming over her face as the bone sunk back into her body.

"Very well, Andi Ena."

"Hey everyone! I'm gonna be Megahertz. Spelled M-H-z!"

"Oliver Ferdinand, you're up," Mrs. Barthory called. The greasy looking boy stood up with a scowl on his face.

"The Stretch-a-Hero: Rubberband." Melody smiled at this as well. ' _Short, simple, and to the point, eh? At least it works with his Quirk, and it seems like he put some thought into it. Oh...wait I'm next. Uh-oh, don't screw this up, Melody.'_

"Melody Halloway."

"Uh, hey everyone. I've had this name in mind for a long time. I'll be the Ghost Hero: Scarlette Phantom."

"Good choice!" Andi called, winking at the redhead, who rolled her eyes playfully at her friend's interruption as she sat back down in her desk. One by one the rest of the class took their turns standing up and announcing their names.

"I'll be Steampunk," Rylee said, completely straight-faced.

"I'm gonna be the Volcano Hero: Vulcana!" Kira announced gleefully. ' _Volcano Hero? I suppose that works for her.'_ Melody thought. Then...It was Lyon's turn.

"The Aquatic Hero: Poseidon."

"Uh...what?" Was the general consensus of the class. Melody giggled slightly and shook her head. ' _Well...I'm not gonna say I'm surprised. He is a bit...odd.'_

"That is what's called a joke, yes? I figured that would 'break the ice' as it were. In any case, my actual Hero name will be the Fiery Hero: Inferno."

"I will be the Conversion Hero: Pivot Pointer," Marcus said as soon as the class had calmed down from the oddity that was Lyon MacAllister.

"I will be the Lunar Hero: Alpha," Narruk announced, his voice seeming to draw the attention of everyone in class. ' _Well...I guess he has some sort of moon-related Quirk? That still doesn't help much. The Alpha part does seem to have some merit to it, he certainly appears to be able to draw attention to himself. Oh...oh-no. Clara.'_

"Listen up, weaklings! Remember this name, it'll be at the top of the Hero charts one day very soon! I'm the Verbose Hero: Elisnore! Got that!? Anyone got a problem with it?"

"Sit down, Ms. Ramirez. You've had your turn, now it's time for Diana Suharto if you please."

"Hey guys and gals, I'm gonna be Komo."

"Sirius Wilsk."

"Oh, um…I guess that I'm gonna-"

"Shut up ya whiner! Listen up, our name is a group effort! We're the Two-Bit Heroes, I'm Bonnie!" Epiphany, who simply poofed into existence next to her host, who sighed.

"I'm Clyde," he practically mumbled, somewhat annoyed that the scarlet-haired girl had stolen his thunder.

"Hm? Who are you, miss?" Rosapast asked the spirit girl. In response to the question, she slung one arm over Sirius' shoulders and grinned widely.

"I'm Epiphany! I'm dead!" Those who hadn't been listening to Melody's fight against the pair gasped.

"Uh, my Quirk allows me to act as a host to spirits. She's nothing more than a parasite in every sense of the word," the boy said, sending a glare at the girl, who stuck out her tongue and faded into nothing.

"Yes...well, Lyle Wolfbane? You're our last student." The white-haired boy frowned and stood up.

"I'm Hemlok, and I'm gonna show all of you that you don't need to act heroicly or have a heroic Quirk to be a Hero," he proclaimed and sat back down. ' _He certainly has a strong personality. I can understand not having a Heroic power, I guess. I'm certainly not the friendliest looking ghost. You know what? Right on, Lyle! You don't need a 'Heroic' Quirk to be a Hero.'_ Melody smirked slightly and gave the boy a nod over her shoulder, which he seemed quite surprised by. It was at this moment that Rosapast attempted to regain control of her class after many of them had reacted poorly to the boy's declaration.

"Settle down. Now that you've all chosen your Hero names I feel as if I should better explain what is expected of you here. I'm sure that irresponsible fool Holl didn't fully go into detail about our expectations."

"This is gonna be a long class," Kira whined quietly as she laid her head down on her desk. For the life of her, Melody just couldn't seem to disagree. ' _At least I get to see Nathan on Saturday, that'll make everything better.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **And there we have it, everyone has codenames now. The reason this happens so early is because in America (in my universe at least) identities are more important to Heroes than they seem to be in Japan. That's why most Heroes wear a mask (If your OC doesn't and you'd like to change that just let me know). Anyway next week we have an exciting chapter!**

 **NEXT TIME ON**

 **THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Combat Training and A Shocking Reveal!**


	9. Chapter 8: Combat Training

**Hey dudes. Here's this weeks chapter. I want to apologize up front if this chapter seems a bit...all over the place, but I don't really wanna stretch out this intro arc much more.**

 **Which brings me to the current poll. So far, the votes are as follows**

 **MHA: The Sandman-3**

 **Pokemon Journeys: Hoenn-2**

 **Soul Eater: Atlantis Rising-2**

 **Avengers: Nova-0**

 **I kinda expected the Avengers story to be the least popular, so I've decided now to replace it. In all honesty, I was really just using it as a place holder since I hadn't finished the anime I wanted to do a story for. So, as of now...The fourth story on the poll will be:**

 **Raging Tides: A Bleach Story. Yep, I just finished the Bleach manga and have decided to do an OC fic that follows these events. It will follow a young boy by the name of Kyo Maki as he comes to grips with life in the Soul Society following his death.**

 **POLL ON MY PROFILE GO VOTE. FIRST TO, as of now, TEN VOTES WILL BE THE WINNER! YOU CAN VOTE FOR UP TO 2!**

 **Remember, If you don't vote Puff Daddy will put a cap in yo ass (10 Brownie points if you get this reference)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy. There are two, maybe three depending on your opinion of Carlyle, massive surprises/events in this story that will set up a ton of future plotlines.**

 **As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns just shoot me a PM or review and I will answer promptly.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

To say Melody was nervous would be an understatement. Today was their first combat training class, which by itself didn't scare her as much as the expression of Clara's face did. To her, it looked like a mix of smugness, arrogance, and for some reason excitement. Thankfully, it was at that moment that Narruk, who was standing at her left side, moved ever so slightly to cut off the direct sightline connecting the two girls. "Don't let her get to you, Melody."

"Yeah, I know," the redhead sighed. On her other side, Kira groaned and hung her head.

"Jeez, why is every teacher at this school like ten minutes late to their first class!?" She exclaimed. ' _Unfortunately she's not wrong. Three out of the five teachers we've met so far have been late. Mr. Holl arrived nearly halfway through the class, Ms. Whittaker took like ten, and we've been standing here for like nine minutes already.'_ Melody thought, watching with amusement as Kira and Clara began going at it, the latter annoyed with the former's whiny tone. Before the two girls could really get into it, however, the door to 'Gym Eight', which is where most combat lessons for the lower years took place, swung open and a pale looking woman with snowy white hair and an eyepatch covering her right socket dragged herself to the center of the gym. ' _She's the woman that proctored the physical exam.'_

"Listen up, I'm not going to repeat myself. This class is pretty simple, the objective is to learn how to fight with your hands, or...other body parts, instead of your Quirks. Now, get into pairs and spar. If needed I'll intervene and give advice or whatever but no Quirk usage. Go," the woman said unenthusiastically, much to Melody's amusement, which quickly faded as a pit grew in her stomach. ' _Just...stay away from Clara. To be honest, I'd rather go against someone like Eris or Kira, they both seem like decent fighters and aren't as...buff as Clara.'_

"Oi! Halloway, let's go," Narruk suddenly called, ushering Melody into one of the corners of the gym, far away from the magenta-haired girl, who had been glaring at the two of them, but settled down when Kira all but jumped her. Little by little, the class settled into a routine. With how many times she was being thrown to the floor by the scarred boy, he seemed to not be keen on holding back against her, she was able to observe quite a few of the fights.

Sirius and Hazel were hesitantly exchanging blows, neither seeming to know how to proceed in the spar. The indigo-haired boy threw a sloppy punch that the girl should have easily been able to counter, were it not for the fact that Sirius tripped and tumbled into her, causing both of them to fall into a pile on the ground. ' _Maybe this class is good for them.'_

Across the gym, Lyle was struggling to keep up with Andrew, as he seemed to have more experience in hand-to-hand combat. Lyle tried to sweep the other boy's legs out from under him, but his opponent dodged with ease and managed to land a hit to his ribcage. ' _Andrew is pretty good at this. I guess he is the second-ranked student in our class. Lyle was ranked eighth, but I'm guessing his overall score was elevated by the written test. He seems intelligent.'_

Seeming to have taken pity on the smaller girl, Diana was working with Andi, teaching her how to throw a real punch. While she was listening and going through the motions that the lizard girl told her to, the antennae-eared girl was more interested in asking questions about the logistics of Diana's Quirk. ' _Oh Andi, you're too curious for your own good. Diana is so nice to help her out.'_

Meanwhile, Oliver and Eris seemed to be having an all-out brawl. As Kira and Clara's fight was fueled by their fledgling rivalry, these two appeared, to Melody at least, to be enjoying themselves. Even the black-haired boy, who had been quite reserved so far, had a small grin on his face as he evaded a high kick from the brunette, the girl looked to be having the time of her life. ' _From what I heard those two had a pretty intense battle in the labyrinth. I guess they still had a score to settle.'_

An irritated shout drew the girl's attention away from Narruk, which was a mistake as his foot slammed into her thigh. She ignored the pain, simply smiling at the scarred boy's apology, then glanced back at the duel going on between Rylee and Lyon. Though maybe calling it a fight was generous. Every single attack the caramel-haired girl threw, Lyon simply dodged. The boy's incredible dodging skills, combined with the fact that his ever-present grin was plastered on his face, was getting on Rylee's nerves. ' _That's...quite a mismatch. It's becoming increasingly clear how he got the first spot. I feel bad for Rylee, she keeps getting put up against opponents tougher than her.'_ The battle was somewhat hypnotic to watch, and it looked to Melody that she wasn't the only one watching. Nearly every sparring pair had stopped what they were doing, with the exception of Kira and Clara, and watched as Rylee's attacks became increasingly erratic, trying to throw her opponent off. ' _Every time she tries to up the ante, Lyon just seems to get better. I wonder how a battle between him and Narruk, or god forbid Clara, would go.'_

"PISS OFF YOU PUNK!" Clara roared as Kira went flying by Melody, causing her hair to whip wildly due to the force of the throw, and slam directly into Rylee. While the two girls laid on the ground, both groaning in pain, the magenta-haired girl stomped over towards Ms. Hanoka, her face enraged. "Why the hell are we just sparring like this? It's completely irrelevant, I already know I can beat anyone in this damned class without breaking a sweat."

"You think so?" The combat teacher asked, raising an eyebrow and looking overall unimpressed. As Clara opened her mouth to continue her tirade, Ms. Hanoka leaped off of her perch on top of the folded up bleachers and landed quietly, her body seeming to not make a noise as she did so. "Fine. I suppose it's time I get involved with this class. You all appear to have potential, but your skills are unrefined and juvenile. Ms. Ramirez, I expected more considering who your father is."

"What?" Clara growled, her voice sounding far more dangerous than Melody had ever heard before. If the redhead was honest with herself, the mix of venom and pain in the girl's voice was far more frightening than any of her previous threats. Ms. Hanoka however, only smiled and stood up straighter, the multiple blades strapped to her body jangling as she did so.

"This is perhaps the most important class you will take during your time here at the Forge. You can have all the knowledge in the world on what to do and what not to do in a crisis situation, but when you're up against a villain, if you can't fight, adapt, and overcome...it'll cost you your life. Over the next four years, I will drill this idea into your head until each of you can hold your own in combat. As for you, Ms. Ramirez, if you are unsatisfied with fighting your classmates, I'd be happy to give everyone an example of what I'm talking about." The woman's words sent a chill running down Melody's spine and she could tell, by the way, he stiffened, that Narruk experienced something similar.

"You want me to fight you? Finally, something interesting!" Clara exclaimed, lowering herself into a fighting position.

"Everyone, please move to the sidelines. Ms. Ramirez, since this is technically a lesson, I'm giving you permission to use your Quirk. As such, I will not hold back either, we will continue until one of us concedes, is that alright with you?" The teacher asked, her expression and tone neutral but having a very deadly undertone. This didn't seem to phase Clara though, as she moved silently to one side of the gym and began stretching. ' _Either Clara is way too confident in herself, which is probably the case, or she is seriously underestimating Ms. Hanoka. While she hasn't revealed her past yet, every teacher at this school is a current or former Pro Hero, this fight'll be over in a second.'_

"Something's odd about this, wouldn't you say?" Narruk asked her, his gaze on their teacher.

"What'd you mean?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was waiting for someone to challenge her. That look in her eyes when she first asked Clara to fight her was...unhinged," the scarred boy said morosely. Melody's brow knitted in bemusement at the look of recognition in his eyes. It took a minute, but when she looked back at her own battle against him, the one thing she remembered before being knocked out was the feral...unhinged look in the boy's amber eyes. Before she could think further on that, Ms. Hanoka spoke up.

"Begin." Without even allowing her to finish the word, Clara surged forward and screamed, the vibrations caused by her Quirk made the entire gym shake, and forced Melody and the others to cover their ears. When the tremor calmed slightly, the redhead removed her hands and turned her head back up, gasping at what she saw. Ms. Hanoka stood, just inches away from the magenta-haired girl, a long, curved knife pressed up against the latter's throat. Clara's eyes were as large as dinner plates and her breath came in hesitant spurts. After a moment, the teacher removed her knife and stepped back, leaving Clara to take a deep breath and stumble back slightly. "You have potential, but right now your skills are weak. Against any proper villain, you would inevitably be slain. This is the harsh reality. Throw away any misconceptions about your own strength and get this through your heads. You. Are. Not. Strong. Enough. Yet."

"Holy shit," Narruk muttered from beside her. "Clara's scream looked like it had no effect."

"You...bastard. Cut the shit. What did you do to evade my attack?" The magenta-haired girl murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Nothing. Your attack was weak, as I've said."

"BULLSHIT! I AM NOT WEAK! YOU'VE GOT SOME SORT OF QUIRK THAT ALLOWS YOU TO NULLIFY MY VOICE!" Clara boomed, her previous anger returning in force.

"You couldn't be further from the truth. I wasn't lying, your attack was weak. You may be able to defeat your classmates, hell you could even beat some minor thugs. You're Quirk has amazing potential if your father is anything to go off of." Once again, Melody noticed how Clara bristled at the mention of the third-ranked Hero. "However, you are too early in your development. Don't get a big head just because you can defeat classmates who have just as much, if not less, experience in battle than you do. I've been a Pro for several years and fighting opponents stronger than me for far longer."

"Go to hell. Just because you have a stupid power that can nullify my voice doesn't make you better than me." Despite the verbal lashing she'd just received, Clara still argued, trying to keep her pride intact. Something Ms. Hanoka ignored wholeheartedly.

"That would be impossible. I have no way to block or nullify your abilities." As the teacher said this a thin line of red came streaming out of her left ear. "I just have experience ten times what you have now. Besides...I'm Quirkless."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody sighed as she walked down the busy streets that surrounded the U.S.A.E.I campus. In the years since it was first built the area around the school had traded in old warehouses for a variety of shops and restaurants, all to suit the needs of the country's most promising students. Currently, the redhead was trying to both recover from the day's classes and familiarize herself with the miniature city. ' _There's so much here just to mostly cater to students. Though I'm not very surprised. This is the largest Hero school in all of North America.'_ She grinned as she saw a few of her fellow students, she could tell by the uniforms they were wearing that they were juniors, horsing around in front of an electronics store, seemingly arguing how to best spend their money. However, that's when she noticed the store directly next to that one and her eye began to twitch in irritation. "You have got to be kidding me," she said aloud as she stared at the small, two-story building. Just above the glass door, there was a sign that read; ' _Halloway Pizzeria'_. The redhead stood in awe, and quite a bit of annoyance, as she stared up at the exact replica of her childhood home. Once she heard the quick moving, heavy footsteps she knew what would happen next.

"MELLY MY DARLING! YOU'VE COME TO VISIT!" Carlyle Halloway bellowed as he scooped the girl up and squeezed her into a hug, one that nearly knocked the breath out of her. In response, she raised her arm and slammed her elbow onto the top of her father's head. "Melly, how can you be so violent!?"

"SHUT IT OLD MAN, YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" She roared as the redheaded man dropped her, rubbing the spot where she had struck him. In her rage, she stomped into the restaurant and was shocked to see it looked exactly like the one she remembered, even the dent in the wall where she had slammed her father's head after a particularly annoying comment he had made around the time she had begun puberty. "H-How the heck did you manage this? It looks precisely like the one in Brooklyn."

"Uh, well…"

"What did you do?" Melody sighed, resting her face into her palm. Her father's expression turned somewhat sheepish and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I, uh...may have had an old friend capable of moving objects through space from one place to another," Carlyle explained. In the following moments, all his daughter could do was shake her head. However, before she could berate him anymore, a loud clanging sound echoed from the kitchen and her father's expression turned to one of glee and then false impatience. "ANTHONY YOU BETTER NOT HAVE BROKEN ANOTHER DISH OR I AM TAKING IT OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK!"

"For Christ's sake dad," Melody muttered as her father stomped away. After a moment of hearing her father's yells from the next room, the redhead stood up and made her way towards the door that had once led to the second-floor apartment. ' _I guess he wasn't lying.'_ She thought as she stared at the living room she'd grown up playing in. A small smile came over her face as she settled down onto the couch. ' _It really doesn't feel like it's been less than a week since I moved out. Despite dad's eccentricities, yelling, cooking...and midnight training sessions, this place will always be home.'_

"So Melly, how have your classes been so far?" Carlyle asked as he appeared at the top of the stairs. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed his heavy footfalls.

"Good I suppose. It's only been two days since I last saw you after all. Uh, yesterday we chose our codenames and today we had combat training. It went well, but then Clara, that's Seismos' kid, challenged our teacher. She lost...bad. Then we figured out that Ms. Hanoka is just like you, dad."

"Oh really?" Carlyle asked with a sly smile, making Melody roll her eyes.

"Figures you already know. I'm glad that your drinking buddy tells you everything that goes on at school," the redhead said sarcastically.

"Now, now Melly. Mr. Ivanov is a very old friend of mine. He likes to keep me informed, or so he says. Really I think he's just absolute crap at holding his liquor," Carlyle said with a grin. "Anyway, you said you've picked codenames? Tell me, which did you go with? I know you had a few in mind. My favorite was Casper!"

"DAD! THAT WAS FROM WHEN I WAS FIVE!" The redhead yelled, her cheeks glowing slightly at the mention of her childhood Hero name.

"Aw, but Melly it was such a cute name! That was your favorite story when you were younger!" Her father whined. When his daughter huffed and turned her head away stubbornly, he sobbed and grabbed a picture of Harmony from the coffee table and hugged it close to his chest. "Oh, Harmony! Our daughter has become so cruel with age! What should I do!?"

"Jeez, don't start crying dad, no one wants to see that. You're an ugly crier."

"Runs in the family," Her father laughed, ignoring her exasperated glare, and announced that she was staying for dinner that night, to which she quickly tried every excuse she could think of, but to no avail. While the food was just a greasy as usual, and her father no less insane, the redhead smiled as her father once again screamed at Anthony for something beyond the teen's control. ' _Please...don't ever change dad.'_ By the time she returned to the dorms, the sun had already set and Melody felt exhausted. She didn't even change out of her uniform, just taking a second to kick off her shoes, before collapsing into bed.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Deep in the heart of New York City, an African American man dressed in a dark blue, nearly black, tuxedo walked confidently down Fifth Avenue. He paid no heed to anyone as he walked, as in his mind they were no more than ants under his boot. Eventually, he stopped in front of a small jewelry store and pulled a small crystal key from his breast pocket. He then unlocked and opened the door, stepping into the dark store. As he walked over to the very back wall of the store, he took out a device, this time out of his left pant pocket, and pressed its only button, causing the wall to shutter and slide open slightly, revealing a set of stairs descending below the store. Down below he heard two voices, which seemed to be arguing, and smiled. ' _Those two never seem to get enough of each other. I wonder what more will come from this?'_ He wondered as he stepped into a well-lit room to see a man with golden hair yelling, every once and a while a small burst of flames would escape from between his teeth, at a tall, pink-haired woman who responded to each of his insults with one of her own. "YOU PRETENTIOUS MORON!"

"QUIET FIRE IDIOT!"

"Spitfire, Puppeteer, enough," said a cold voice from the other end of the room. "It seems like Mr. Smith has arrived. Hopefully with good news?"

"Shut up, Prophet," the two aggressors said in unison, but were ignored as the third person, an elderly looking man with wispy gray hair and a murderous smile, stepped forward to welcome the newcomer.

"Prophet, playing the mediator as usual?" The man in the tuxedo inquired.

"With such noisy children, elders must step in to correct such behavior. In any case, you've arrived just in time. Master Plague is scheduled to arrive any moment now. I believe he is expecting a guest from overseas."

"Hm? I hope it isn't that despicable Michaelangelo from the Red Sun organization in Europe. I've never met more of an insufferable brute. Who else are we waiting on, then?"

"I believe Spitfire's team is arriving shortly, not that I very much appreciate his choices. An all-out assault would've been so much simpler to pull off. However, he says that would lead to unnecessary lose of life," Prophet explained with a scoff. Just then the sound of something extremely heavy coming down the stairs resonated throughout the underground base. After a moment, a creature resembling more of a bowling ball than an actual man landed facefirst on the metal floor before jumping to his feet and waving enthusiastically at those assembled.

"'Allo everyone! I just fell dahn the bloody stairs we should right cop them less slippery," the man commented, in a thick cockney accent, as he took slow, heavy steps over to Spitfire, who looked slightly exasperated by the sudden appearance of the man.

"Hey, Barty. Where're the others?"

"Ah, well I got so excited ter see everyone that I kinda ran and left them back there," Barty replied simply, scratching the top of his head, which was covered by an awful looking white powder wig. Spitfire nodded, as if he'd been expecting this, and glanced over to the stairway where a group of three others had just arrived. At the front of the pack was a pale man with platinum blond hair, dressed in black, who yawned and held up one of his gloved hands in greeting. Behind him stood a man with bright orange hair and was covered in burn marks, as well as a figure whose face was hidden behind a mask, resembling that of a crying clown.

"Leech, Kaboom, and Switch. Thanks for coming," Spitfire said lazily in greeting.

"No problem boss, not much else to do," the pale man, Leech, replied, a heavy northeastern accent present in his voice.

"When do we get to blow shit up?" The orange haired man, Kaboom, asked, his tone sound twitchy and hyper. The third figure stayed silent, simply taking his place at Spitfire's side. Suddenly, a door slid open on the far right wall of the room and two people walked out. Every single person in the room, including the massive Barty, immediately dropped to one knee when the man known as Plague entered.

"I'm happy we could get three of the five here tonight. Unfortunately, Vesuvius and Cryomancer could not join us tonight, but no matter. There are some things I wish to discuss before our guest arrives." Plague spoke as though each word he said first went through a meat grinder. Despite that, his raspy words were filled with amusement. "First off, Puppet. How is our latest member adjusting to their role?"

"About as well as I expected. My abilities are able to seal their memories so those with... _certain abilities_ won't be able to circumvent us. As of now, we have yet another piece played in our favor."

"Excellent. Spitfire? How goes the mission?" Plague asked though Spitfire could hear the indifference in his tone. ' _Bastard. He says I'm one of the five, but that's bull. This is just a test. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he set up this mission to fail. I show you, you son of a bitch.'_

"Eh, good as you expect. I changed up Prophet's plan to just be a small team. I figure we can get in easier and blow the place to hell a lot quicker if it's a small number of us."

"Acceptable. Mason?"

"Our revenue is steady, but costs have begun to rise with all the covering up and construction we've done recently with our new recruits. I actually had a small proposal for you, sir. Regarding a way we can bolster income and lower expendatures if you are willing to hear it." However, before the master could answer, an alarm began to sound. Someone was entering the base uninvited, or...that's what the alarm was supposed to be for. Plague grinned, his bright blue eyes shining slightly. Spitfire sighed and leaned against one of the room's desks, completely uninterested in whoever the master's 'special guest' was. Prophet raised one of his hands and the alarm stopped, just as Puppeteer swallowed heavily. While the room waited in anticipation there was a disturbance in the air near the staircase. Seemingly out of mid-air, a black portal began to form, and someone started to step out of it. A man...covered in hands.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Huh, that was unexpected. Clara gets her ass kicked, Carlyle moves a building, and a mysterious person visits the Black Order. Wonder who it could be? (Kinda obvious)**

 **Anyway, thanks so much for reading guys, and don't forget to vote for which story you'd like me to write on the side! Later**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Specialty Classes and Evil Rising**


	10. Chapter 9: Specialty Classes

Hey dudes and dudettes, sorry about the long wait with this guy, but real life sucks sometimes. Anyway, I've got a few announcements before we get into the chapter, so read them if you want, or skip if you don't care.

1- The first chapter for Pokemon Journeys: Hoenn will be posted sometime in the next few weeks, depends on how much free time I have. I've taken your opinions into consideration and have decided that Torchic will be our starters

2-I've finally finished compiling the Class FH1 Roster (Some of whom will show up in this chapter) so here you go. I'm sorry if your character didn't make it. They will show up later as upperclassmen or Pro Heroes.

Benjamin Wallaby

Cody Adams

Damien Chase

Dominique Wufu

Jahaziah Cortes

Jake Schmiede

Nathan Larsson

Kenny Philips

Leopold Stellar

Liam Heartsworth

Lilia Ayria

Payton Bille

Saroya Sawyer

Taiga Naoto

Vanessa Monteur

Vivianne Ochoa

3-So, about the League of Villains...don't get mad at me. This chapter is basically a cameo of them. We don't even truly know what they want with the Black Order yet (You guys don't at least) but this is just my way of showing that there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

4-WE HAVE A DISCORD, LINK IN MY PROFILE!

5-Edit 1/28/19-Big thanks to IWriteWhenTheHiatusStrikes for beta-ing this chapter!

IMPORTANT: It's chapter 10, which I see as a benchmark, so let's talk about my overall vision of this story. My plan right now is to have 3 parts, each around 14-16 arcs, that will make up our main story. Later on down the line I also plan to have some branch off stories after this one is finally finished. These include an Origin Story about Miss Vesuvius, an epilogue/movie/short story about Kira, and a movie/short story following USAEI Seniors vs. UA Seniors. There will certainly be more down the line, but so far these are my plans. I also need suggestions for what you guys wanna see later down the line. I've got the beginning and end all planned out, but the middle is pretty sporadic in terms of story.

Alright, that's everything. I hope you all enjoy! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave a review, send a PM, or email me (This is located at the bottom of chapter 1).

Purpose of a Hero

June 15, 2317

Prophet grinned maliciously as his fearless leader took their blue-haired visitor into his private office. In his eyes, Plague was a messiah. A man who would change history for the betterment of mankind, a true visionary. It was the main reason he'd followed him for nearly three decades. To see his master finally stepping out from within the shadows was invigorating, even more so than being given the order to hunt down and kill one of the top ten North American Heroes. "Oh glorious day, we've begun our path to perfection." His proclamation caught the attention of Spitfire, who snorted.

"Knock it off with that shit, Prophet. No one wants to listen to you preach."

"Yeah, seriously. It's friggin' annoying," Puppeteer agreed, causing Spitfire to roll his eyes and turn his head to face her.

"Shut up, like you're any better."

"I WAS AGREEING WITH YOU ASSHOLE!" As per usual, this devolved into another spirited shouting match between two of the Black Order's highest ranking members, something that constantly made Prophet waver between amusement and irritation. 'For Generals in our master's army, those two have the nature of school children fighting over a ball. My master must see something in them that I don't. He must some kind of latent potential in them.' The man thought, shaking his head at the pair's angered yells. Suddenly, a voice spoke up from behind the priest-looking elder.

"They always like this?" It was the heavily scarred man that had exited the portal right behind Tomura Shigaraki. While his facial expression was largely neutral, maybe portraying a hint of curiosity, Prophet could see the suspicion in his eyes.

"Unfortunately. They just don't understand the magnitude of this joyous occasion. With the unity between our masters solidified, this world will crumble beneath our combined might!" The man stated, his smile reaching from ear to ear. "My master informed me that only Mr. Shigaraki and Mr. Kurogiri were to be attending our meeting, yet they bring you along. Tell me why."

"Eh? I dunno. I'm new to the League," the scarred man said nonchalantly. The elder frowned as he absorbed this information. While some wouldn't question it, Prophet had been in the business of villainy for far too long to not expect the worst. 'Hm, was Mr. Shigaraki expecting a fight? Surely his own master told him about the intentions of Master Plague. Perhaps this is his master's plan, to wipe out the competition? No, he is more intelligent than that. All-for-One would certainly see the value in a non-aggression pact between two bastions of the new world. Of course, that begs the question of why he is acting subservient to this...child. I assume this particular meeting has something to do with that fiasco involving the so-called 'Hero Killer'.' Prophet was broken out of his pondering as an irate-looking Shigaraki stormed out of Plague's office and glared daggers at everyone in the room.

"Kurogiri, Dabi, we are leaving." With that announcement, the scarred individual sighed and stuck his hands into the deep pockets of his stitched-together trench coat. The black-mist user, who'd largely remained quiet throughout the short fifteen minutes the meeting had taken, quickly complied, his body expanding into a portal. However, before the blue-haired man could enter it, the raspy voice of Plague stopped him.

"Shigaraki. My contact will meet you in Tokyo upon your return, probably in an alleyway or something. Be on the lookout for a blond man with a fake eye hidden underneath a cloak. He'll serve your cause well enough, just make sure you give him something to do or he's likely to go insane, and I mean that quite literally." Tomura Shigaraki scowled beneath the hand covering his face but didn't bother to turn around, stepping into the portal and disappearing. Dabi and Kurogiri followed suit, with the latter seemingly collapsing into himself as the portal shrank and vanished completely. The second it was clear that their guests had left, Plague chuckled and turned to Prophet. "Get in touch with Muscular, tell him that Shigaraki is his new boss for the time being."

"Sir?"

"The League of Villains is recruiting, I simply gave them a reference. Along with that, and a bit of funding, I was able to negotiate the terms of our non-aggression pact. Granted, it took some time to get that boy to listen to me. Apparently, we aren't 'important enough to get rid of' in Tomura's eyes. Luckily, All-for-One always had a bit more sense to him than most."

"So? What now then, boss?" Spitfire inquired, crossing his arms over his chest, still not fully comprehending the meaning behind his leader's words.

"We plan. The first stage is done, now we move on to stage two. Spitfire, begin preparations."

Purpose of a Hero

August 24, 2317...Two Months Later

"Mornin' Melody," Kira yawned as she entered the common area, still dressed in her pajamas, receiving a wave from the redhead in response. The girl's multi-colored hair was an absolute mess Melody noticed, although hers wasn't much better, sticking out at odd angles. It was early Friday morning, the last day of their first week at the Forge, and it appeared as if the entire girl's dorm was up bright and early, the fact that classes started half an hour later on Fridays certainly helped in that regard, in anticipation of the weekend. The only exception to this was, unsurprisingly, Clara, who they'd found out was quite the heavy sleeper.

"Hey, Kira. Have any trouble sleeping? You look exhausted," Andi asked, her brow furrowing slightly at the girl's unkempt hair and the first sign of dark bags forming beneath her black eyes.

"Nah, I just lost track of time studying. Can you believe we already have a test? It's our first week! Ugh, this school is gonna kill me," Kira groaned dramatically, flopping down onto the couch cushion adjacent to Melody, who rolled her eyes as she felt the weight of the black-eyed girl's head rest on her shoulder.

"Well, this is the most difficult Hero program in the entirety of North America, therefore, it makes sense that its normal curriculum would be just as challenging," Hazel stated. "Add that to the fact that only half of the day is devoted to normal studies, I don't find it unusual at all that we are moving faster than what is to be expected."

"Damn, that was eloquent as hell, Hazel!" Kira grinned, patting the girl on the back happily, only to yelp in surprise as Melody flicked her on the nose.

"Language and get off my shoulder, freeloader," the redhead said, lowering her shoulder and then immediately raising it again, causing Kira's falling head to slam into it. While the black-eyed girl pouted and rubbed the sore spot on the side of her face, Melody smiled contently and turned her attention back to the brunette. "She has a point though, Cammie. You do seem to come off as someone who's pretty...rich, I suppose?"

"Oh...well yes. My father is a very renowned lawyer and my mother is an esteemed doctor. We are pretty well off financially," she explained, obviously pleased with what Melody had called her. The night before, as the girls sat at their table in the dorm's dining area, the small girl had asked her classmates to call her by either her middle name or some variation of it. 'Cammie definitely fits her more than Hazel. Other than her speech patterns, she is overly girly in every way.' The girl really appeared to appreciate when the redhead was one of the first to comply with her request. "Anyway, Kira if you ever need any sort of tutoring then I'd be happy to help."

"You are a lifesaver, Cam-baby!" While she was happy about Melody's new nickname for her, Cammie couldn't quite appreciate Kira's the same way. If she noticed the way the brunette's jaw clenched slightly every time she said it, the black-eyed girl never acknowledged her displeasure. To make matters worse, Kira basically tackled the shorter girl with a bone-crushing hug, nearly sending the both of them falling off the couch. Nevertheless, the two would have preferred the short drop to the hardwood floor when they compared it with the actual result...a head-on collision with the hot-blooded Clara.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING MORONS!" The magenta-haired girl bellowed, the front of her orange tank top now covered with the cereal and milk that had been her breakfast. The very sight of Clara at that moment, a vein bulging in her forehead and covered in brightly colored corn flakes, caused Melody to burst into hysterical laughter, something that was immediately mimicked by Kira, while Cammie took the smarter route and got the hell out of the way. The sudden rush of activity had drawn the attention of every student in the area, many of whom watched the scene in amusement.

"That's...probably not good, is it?" Rylee asked, her expression unimpressed. Beside her, Eris just cackled and started cheering.

"Kick her ass, Melody! Get her Kira!" Unfortunately for the laughing girls, these jeers only seemed to provoke even more. Her expression warped from an angry scowl, into a slightly more demented grin.

"Halloway, Kazani...SHUT UP!" Clara boomed, her Quirk activating and increasing the volume of her shout tenfold. The windows of the building shook violently, several people holding mugs cried out in shock as they shattered, and anyone still sleeping had the worst wake-up call of the school year so far, this wasn't the first time Clara's voice had been heard in the morning hours. For those closest to her shout, namely the subjects of her rage, only heard the first few seconds of the yell before they couldn't hear anything anymore. Satisfied, the magenta-haired girl gathered up her school supplies and began making her way to the hallway leading to her room, intending to change her soiled shirt before classes started.

"Jesus Clara. Went a bit far, don't you think?" Rylee inquired, her ears still ringing. Clara scoffed and didn't even stop to acknowledge the girl.

"Their hearing should return in about a half hour, so when it does tell them they're lucky I held back." And with that, Clara left the common area and stalked down the halls to her room, only passing Diana on her way. "Outta the way, lizard."

"It's the first week of school and already we've been woken up three times by her," the reptilian girl muttered to herself, just a bit miffed about having been woken so suddenly. The irate girl paid her no heed and stomped into her room, slamming the door behind her. "I wonder what went wrong this time. It was probably Kira again, those two are always at each other's throat," she muttered to herself, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes. When she entered the common area, it was largely deserted, with their extra time running low many students had rushed off to get ready for the day ahead. Of those left behind, only three were from her own class. The ever-enthusiastic Eris, the stoic Rylee, and the tiny Andi, all three of whom were already dressed in their uniforms and sat in plush chairs around one of the room's multiple circular tables.

"Diana, good morning!" Andi greeted cheerily, waving one of her hands vigorously. Eris copied the girl's welcome, while Rylee simply smiled and nodded her head to the reptilian. "So, today's Friday, which means we have specialty courses, right? Which area are you guys specializing in?"

"General Hero," Diana replied, seeming a little off put.

"Same here, can't really use my steam for much else," Rylee commented in her usual bored-sounding tone. Andi nodded, closing her eyes as she thought about this, before humming and shaking her head.

"Yeah, I don't think you guys would fit anywhere else. It's the best place for you. For me, I was kinda stuck between 'Support' or 'Search and Rescue'. In the end, I went with Support. My Quirk can drastically weaken enemies for my teammates to get rid of quickly. Besides, just because I'm a support style Hero, doesn't mean I can't help during emergencies."

"Jeez, you sound like you put a ton of thought into this," Diana commented, slumping into the seat beside Rylee, who bowed her head in agreement. "You're really a Quirk nerd, eh?"

"Oh, yeah I guess so. I've loved them since I was a kid when I first got my Quirk I accidentally almost caused everyone at my friend's birthday party to go deaf, and ever since then I've been fascinated with the uniqueness of Quirks."

"Uniqueness?" Diana asked, her head tilting slightly in confusion.

"Yep, okay like...take Clara for example. At first glance, she appears to have the same Quirk as her father, but in reality, I think hers trades in the pure power of her dad's for precision-based attacks, maybe even augmentation. Or like Melody, she seems to have a bit of trouble holding her Quirk for a long time, so I think something about it is draining her energy at a higher rate than normal. But, that's just a theory," Andi explained, rubbing her neck sheepishly at how into it she had gotten.

"Hm, speaking of which…" Eris grinned as she appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "She and that Narruk guy have been pretty chummy around each other since he knocked her out."

"Oh no, I'm out. Gossip isn't my thing." Rylee rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. Andi frowned and shook her head.

"Maybe, but I think Lyon would have something to say about that. She's like...the only person he talks to," the brunette added, causing Eris to smirk.

"A good old fashioned love triangle, eh?"

"You guys are looking too much into this. We've only been here a week," Diana said. For a moment both of the girls looked at one another, shrugged, and proceeded with their conversation. The reptilian girl sighed and got up to leave as well. Instead of heading back to her room, as Rylee had done, she made her way into the kitchen area, hoping to find some leftovers from the breakfast rush. She walked in with her eyes closed as she yawned, and as such, didn't see the girl she ran headfirst into. "Oh, crap! I'm so sorry."

"No worries! Oh hey, you're new. What's your name?" The girl she'd knocked into inquired. Diana grabbed her offered hand and very nearly gasped as she was pulled up and got her first look a the other girl. "Holy hell, she's beautiful." She observed. The girl had wavy pink hair that fell nearly to her feet and extremely vivid purple eyes. Her most defining feature though was the massive, purple, scorpion-like tail that protruded from underneath her skirt. Seeing where her gaze was focused the girl chuckled. "Pretty deadly-looking, eh?"

"Ah...um, sorry," Diana muttered, embarrassed she'd been caught staring. To her surprise, the pinkette only laughed.

"No worries, compared to some your reaction was pretty tame."

"Yeah, I know all about that," the reptilian girl grumbled.

"So~ anyway...I'm Shaula Newton. A pleasure to meetcha!" Shaula said happily.

"I'm Diana Suharto. It's nice to meet you too."

"Based off what you said earlier, I'm guessing you've had some trouble with people being anti-mutant?" The pinkette asked, her voice suddenly serious. Taken aback by the sudden turn, Diana could only nod as she went about making a few pieces of toast. Shaula nodded, almost as if she'd expected the answer, and grimaced. "Don't take what the say to heart. Some people are just uber bigoted and can't see the beauty in mutant-type Quirks. Really, it's their loss. If I could offer you one piece of advice for dealing with stuff like that, it'd be; don't let it get to you. Become a great person and show them wrong!" In a flash, the girl's serious tone had reverted back to the more bubbly one she had earlier.

"T-Thanks. I'll certainly try my best," Diana replied, a small smile gracing her scaled face.

"Now...you might want to hurry, you're still in your pajamas and class starts in fifteen minutes," Shaula stated cheerily, exiting the kitchen with a pep in her step. For a moment, Diana just stood there, the girl's words not really sinking in. Then her eyes widened and she glanced over at the clock on the wall, swore, and rushed back to her room to change out of her sleepwear, leaving her meager breakfast sitting in the toaster.

Purpose of a Hero

"Alrighty then, today is Friday. You know what that means, specialty training. Now, don't get too excited, today's the first day. Therefore, most of you will be stuck in preliminary explanations and lectures. Although Mr. Rinecase has a reputation of being extremely hard on his students," Mr. Holl muttered, not noticing the way that Andi paled in her seat near the center of the room. "Oh! Another thing I should probably tell you. These classes will be one of the only times you have actual classes with class FH1. You'll have practical training with them pretty often, including on Monday; I have a fun little setup for that, but take this time to get comfortable with them. Heroes always have to...know their fellow Heroes or something like that. The exception is General Hero, since it is the most populated. This is split into two and randomized, so some of you will be in one class with some from FH1, the rest will be in the other. Kinda complicated, but no one listened to me at the faculty meeting. Okay, you're dismissed. Search and Rescue wannabes stay here, you'll be working with me."

"See ya, Mel!" Kira called as she and most of the class got up and left the room. When lunch had ended, they'd been told to go back to their homeroom teacher, who would then send them on their way to specialty training. 'Hm, so Mr. Holl is teaching this class? This kinda confirms my theory about him being telepathic. He could use that to listen for people in pain or stuck where others wouldn't be able to. It's also kinda surprising that we'll be working so closely with FH1 on this. I guess the teachers want us to forge some sort of unity while we're still at school or something. Mr. Holl didn't sound so confident in his explanation. I wonder who else will be in the S&R class. Most of the class is likely going to General, maybe Andi will stay behind with me?' Suddenly, an unfamiliar male voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Hello~ beautiful." Standing beside her was an African American boy with long, curly black hair and gray eyes. The bandaid on his cheek was scrunched up slightly by the large grin on his face. 'Oh no.'

"Um, hi?" Melody answered.

"What's a doll like you doing in such a rough place like this?" He asked, taking the seat immediately to her right. The redhead could barely hold back a groan and quickly turned her attention elsewhere. 'Please just let him go away. Dangit, why can't Nathan be here? He always scared away all the perverts in middle school.' Seemingly unphased by her lack of response the boy leaned back in his chair, that cocky grin still plastered on his face. "So, I'm guessing your Quirk is some sort of mind-related thing? Because looking at you is making my head spin." Unable to help herself, Melody burst out into laughter at the stupidity of the boy's pick-up line. Unfortunately, the boy didn't see this as a rejection. "I'm Benji, a pleasure. You got a name as beautiful as you?"

"Greetings Melody." In all her life, the redhead had never been nearly as excited to hear someone's voice as she was at that moment. Seizing the distraction, she spun away from the boy and came face to face with the amber colored eyes of Lyon.

"Lyon! Hey, what's up!" She practically shouted, resolutely ignoring the somewhat annoyed look that crossed over Benji's face. For his own part, the orange-haired boy didn't flinch or lose his ever-present smile.

"You seemed like you needed some assistance in rejecting this boy. I figured that between me and Narruk back there, you'd rather someone blunter would come to your aid. So, yes...Benji was it? I am sorry to inform you that you are making Melody quite uncomfortable and I must ask you to please control your hormonal based advances." Beneath his scalding words and monotone voice, Melody could hear the underlying threat.

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that? I made her laugh, that's more than enough of an indicator that she's interested," the boy replied confidently, puffing out his chest slightly.

"She was laughing at how unbearably idiotic your attempt at flattery was. I must admit, the stupidity of your declaration amused me as well. I've not heard desperation so clearly present in someone's voice in many years." Melody blinked in surprise at the amber-eyed teen's words, felt her mouth split into a small smile, and turned back to face the, now enraged, Benji. The boy made to stand up but was stopped as a scarred hand grabbed him by the shoulder and kept him in his seat, even causing him to wince slightly at the pressure.

"That's enough. This isn't the time or the place for a fight. There will be plenty of times in the future when you can settle this, but at the moment we are in class and must act in ways fitting of students of the Forge. Benji, please refrain from making your classmates uncomfortable, and Lyon please don't verbally berate others when a simple 'stop' would suffice. Am I clear?" Narruk growled, sending a glare at the two boys, the intensity of which sent a chill down Melody's spine. 'Jeez, I suppose Alpha is a great Hero name for him after all. He's surprisingly good at defusing conflict. I wish he could be around to stop Clara and Kira's next brawl.' Narruk released the boy from class FH1, sent one last glare at the two boys, only to sigh as it was met by Lyon's grin, and sat down right behind Melody, seemingly to keep an eye on the two aggressors.

"Well, that was eventful," Mr. Holl said, causing Melody to jump. 'I forgot he was still here. Good thing Benji didn't actually get to fight Lyon.' As usual, her thoughts were met with a nod from the teacher before he turned back to face the class as a whole. Glancing over her shoulder, Melody saw that besides herself and the three boys surrounding her, there were two more girls, both from FH1, sitting a few rows back. "Alright, now then. Today's class is gonna be short as I've got a date with the nurse tonight, I have to repay her for earlier this week somehow, so let's keep this simple. We'll go around the room and introduce ourselves and more importantly, explain our Quirks and how they can be best used as S&R Heroes. I'll go first I suppose. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Derrick Holl and my Quirk is Telepathy. With it I can read minds, so please keep it PG Mr. Wallaby."

"What?" Benji asked.

"Now, I guess I should say that I've got a bit of experience in both the combat and rescue areas of Hero work. In my heyday, I was fairly renowned as the Psionic Hero: Psyche." His words caused the entire class to tense up in surprise.

"Psyche? As in the former number three Hero, Psyche?" Narruk inquired, looking somewhat shocked. The man hummed before continuing, ignoring the excited whispering of the two girls in the back.

"Did I make it to number three? Damn, I'm good. Oh...uh anyway, let's go. You there! Tall guy!" He cried, pointing his finger at the hulking Narruk, who seemed slightly off-put by the label. 'Don't act surprised Narruk, you're like six-foot-seven. The only person I know who is taller than you is my old man."

"I'm Narruk, my codename is Alpha. My Quirk is...Lycanthrope. It allows me to transform into a more powerful wolfman form, but even in my human form it greatly increases my five senses as well as my strength and speed. In a disaster situation, I can not only smell, see, and hear better than any normal human, which I can use to find victims, my power is also strong enough to defend them from any threat." Melody blinked slightly in astonishment during the boy's speech. 'Well, that explains how he was fast and strong enough to get past my guard and take me out in one blow. I wonder if his power is affected by the moon at all? It would only make sense, him practically being a werewolf and all.'

"Interesting, kinda shocking to see you here, to be honest. People with strong Quirks like yours normally go straight to General Hero. Oh well, shows you're smart. Quirks like yours are everything I normally look for when recommending students to S&R Heroes for your summer internships. Alright, let's see...troublemaker, how about you?"

"Fine. I'm Benji Wallaby, codename Benji. My Quirk is called Polarize. With my right palm, I can apply a north pole, and with my left, I can apply a south pole. Fairly simple, same poles repel, opposites attract."

"Good, next is mister pyro."

"I am Lyon MacAllister, and my codename is Inferno. As you can probably infer, my Quirk is Pyrokinesis. The reason I am choosing Search and Rescue as my specialty is fairly simple. I plan to fight fire with fire in a way. As I can only control flames of my own making, my plan is to use those flames to create an inferno around, say, a burning building and reduce the oxygen levels to a point where any flames other than my own are snuffed out."

"Ah, well...that certainly is a unique plan, Lyon. Although I can see where you're coming from. So, Halloway?"

"Oh um...Hi, I'm Melody Halloway, uh codename Scarlet Phantom. My Quirk is Wraith. Uh, with it I can phase myself and others through objects and attacks, although it takes a lot of energy to do so."

"Might wanna work on that. You there, purple hair!"

"I-I'm Dominique Wufu. My, um, codename is Panda Bat. My Quirk is c-called Blind Vibration. With it as l-long, as my eyes are c-closed, I can sort of 'see' using vibrations. I can see, uh, quite further than I-I normally can, and c-can see through objects."

"Alright, that can be quite useful when a lot of rubble is around. Last but not least, you!"

"Hi! I'm Lilia Ayria, my codename is the Nine-Lives Hero: Irusan! My Quirk is called Cat Sith, it lets me transform into...well, take a look!" The brunette declared cheerily before her body began to contort, grow night black hair, and shrink. In no time at all, the girl was replaced by a small, black cat. After prancing about on her desk for a moment, she began to grow and shed her hair, which formed a pile around her desk on the floor, and turned back into a human, her breathing heavier than before. "Ah, well...I can only transform nine times in a period of seven days, hence the name, and I can also turn into a large, more...eh panther-like form but it is extremely taxing on my energy and my body. I can only hold that form for around sixty-five seconds."

"Very interesting. Pretty good for stealth missions and I'm sure the enhanced senses, like Narruk, will help in the locating of victims. Plus your smaller stature will let you get into places others cannot. Is that everyone? Awesome! Okay, wish me luck, the wife is still pretty pissed at me. Thankfully, I made reservations at the best restaurant in town, so she'll have to forgive me! Later!" Mr. Holl shouted before sprinting out of the room, leaving his class behind, all of whom had looks of immense confusion on their faces.

"Is he always like this?" Lilia asked, looking very amused as she turned to face the man's three normal students.

"More or less," Narruk sighed. Melody pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"At least we get out early," she murmured to herself.

Purpose of a Hero

Okay, there we go. What do you guys think? Good, bad, meh? This is my longest chapter to date, but I'm also kinda uneasy about your opinions concerning this stories direction and flow. It's been pretty slow so far, but things should heat up after we get out of this intro arc. Also, I know it's been a concern of mine, not sure what you guys think, but outside of Narruk, Lyon, and kinda Sirius, we need more guy-time in this story. Not that I dislike writing the girls (Clara is a favorite of mine, same with Andi). Also, I apologize if some of the girls' dialogue is a bit...off? Writing teenage girls as a 21-year-old dude is a pretty weird experience, but I wanted to have a strong female lead so fuck it.

For those of you annoyed at the somewhat slow pace (Is it slow? I feel like it's slow), there is only 1 chapter remaining in this intro arc and then we hop right into the action!

Now that all that's outta the way…

NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!

Chapter 11: **Inseparable**


	11. Chapter 10: Inseparable

**Hey Everyone! I'm gonna keep this AN short, but just let me thank all of you. We're currently about fifteen views away from 5,000! One thing I'd like to do before the end of the next arc is reach 50 Followers OR 50 Favorites, we're only ten away from both, so if you're enjoying this story feel free to do either.**

 **Speaking of Arcs, this chapter marks the end of the Rough Beginnings Arc. Now we enter the Darkness Rises Arc. Also, I kinda screwed up in the class FH1 roster and forgot to include Nathan (** _ **palm meet face**_ **) so it's with great regret that I am announcing the removal of Jane Marlboro...who was one of my characters. I reviewed her story and decided we could do without her, so she's gone and replaced with Nathan.**

 **Short An, eh? Damnit Buixy! Okay, last two things I promise! HUGE THANKS to IWriteWhenTheHiatusStrikes for Beta-ing this chapter! He's helped me immensely on the past three or four so shout out to him.**

 **WE HAVE A DISCORD! Link in my profile (If it doesn't work just PM me and I'll send you another)**

 **Finally, If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to Review, PM, or email me! I hope you all enjoy.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **11 Years Ago**

"Do I have to go, mama?" A tiny, red-haired girl said, with overly large green eyes, which were very close to welling up with tears. The toddler's mother smiled kindly and knelt down to her level.

"Yes, Peanut. I know it's scary, but school is fun! You are going to make so many friends and learn a bunch of new things!" The black-haired woman said cheerily. Melody glanced over her mother's shoulder and paled at the sheer amount of kids that had shown up to orientation. Seeing her daughter's gaze, Harmony Kristenson just pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Oh Melody, you are far too much like your father. Look at me, would I ever lie to you?"

"N-No, mama."

"I swear on my heart, hope to die, that you, Melody Ana Halloway, will have so much fun and make so many friends that you'll have to beat them away with a stick!" The woman proclaimed dramatically, causing her daughter to giggle. "There you go, alright. Orientation doesn't start for a few moments, why don't you go play for a bit, hm?"

"O-Okay, mama," Melody answered, albeit a bit hesitantly. Her mother smiled at her again and stood up, claiming she'd seen an old friend and wandered off into the crowd. Left on her own, Melody looked around nervously. She'd never been exposed to this many other kids her age before. Most of the time she only played with the ones that came to her father's pizzeria. Between her Pro Hero mother and business owner father, she'd rarely even left her neighborhood in all her three and a half years of living. The only exception was when she tagged along with her mom to the Teardrop Hero Agency. Stealing her confidence, she clenched her fists and took a step towards the nearest group of children...only to have something slam into her, sending her crashing to the pavement. "Hey!"

"Hm? When'd you get there?" The blond boy asked, tilting his head slightly, almost as if he were unsure why the redhead was sitting on the ground nursing a bruised knee. As she opened her mouth to answer, a loud shriek echoed over the sound of the dozens of playing children.

'NATHAN!" It was definitely a woman's yell and, by the way, the boy's eyes widened, Melody immediately assumed it was his mother. She didn't get the chance to protest as the boy grabbed her by the hand, yanked her to her feet, and took off, pulling her with him in a full sprint.

"W-Wait! Where are we going?" The redhead cried as she was dragged along, nearly tripping several times. The boy simply looked over his shoulder and gave the girl a smile that split his youthful face.

"Just over here. Gotta get away from that gammal kärring," Nathan called back, turning his focus back on the path ahead of them. The two continued running for a short while more, until the blond finally stopped behind a pair of large oak trees just on the outskirts of the school's playground. For a few moments, the only sound that came from the two was that of labored breathing. "So...I 'spose it's your first day as well?"

"Y-Yes," she replied shyly.

"Well, I guess it's nice to meetcha eldigt hår!" Melody blinked in confusion at the boy. When he noticed her gaze he turned beet red and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. Hard to juggle languages."

"You speak more than one?"

"Yep. My dad's Swedish, so I know that, and my mom is from someplace called, uh...Canada, or something. They speak French there. I learned because I was sick of having them yell at me in other languages. I'd have no idea what they were talking about, but my mother would always sound pissed!"

"Watch your language!" Melody cried, her intrigue turning into indignation.

"Huh?"

"My mama says that Heroes gotta be a good example. No swearing, it's not polite," she said matter of factly. To his credit, Nathan managed to hold in his laughter for a total of five seconds until it all burst out at once. 'Hey! I'm serious!"

"I know, that's why it's so funny. Come on...uh, whatever your name is...don't be such a dork," he said, his laughter giving way to light chuckles. "So, you wanna be a Hero? Have you gotten your Quirk, yet?"

"N-No not yet. But I turn four in February!"

"I haven't got mine yet either. Do you have an idea of what it's gonna be? Mine'll be animal related. People in my family have been some variation of cat-mutations for generations, but I'm different! I don't like cats…" the boy trailed off, looking as if he were in deep thought. However, that shifted almost immediately and his bright smile returned. "So? What are your parent's Quirks? My dad's is called Lion and my mom has a Quirk that lets her calm people down when she sings."

"Oh well, my mom can make water shoot from her eyes," Melody said hesitantly.

"So she cries? That's kinda...lame. Ah well, who cares I bet your dad has a really cool Quirk!" At his enthusiastic shout, the redhead's face fell and she felt a weight settle in her chest.

"A-Actually...my dad doesn't have a Quirk." Nathan's eyes widened both at this new piece of information and the incredibly sad look that came over Melody's face.

"H-Hey! Don't, uh, worry I'm sure your dad is plenty cool even without a Quirk!" He yelled frantically, waving his hands around wildly. "So...what class are you in?"

"Mrs. Ouellette's,' Melody responded meekly, slightly embarrassed over how she reacted moments earlier.

"Hey, me too! Alright, I've decided!" The blond declared. The girl looked at him in confusion as he held his hand out towards her. "You and me are friends, at least until we get sick of one another!"

"I...uh." Melody was shocked, she'd never had a real friend her age. However, as she was about to answer him, a stern-looking woman with Nathan's blonde hair came marching into the woods and grabbed the boy by his ear.

"NATHAN LARSSON!" Veronica growled as her son struggled to get away.

"Gah! Leggo, mom!" The boy whined though he was ignored.

"Running off like that, I can't believe you. I told you to behave, it's the first day for goodness sake. When your father hears about this you are going to get it! Hm? Who is this?" The woman asked, her eyes falling on Melody for the first time. ' _She's scary.'_

"Huh? Oh yeah! Mom, this is my new friend...uh, what's your name again?"

"I-I'm Melody. Melody H-Halloway." Upon hearing this, Veronica's eyes widened.

"Halloway, you said? Interesting, what a coincidence. This is the girl I was going to introduce you to until you went and ran off!" She scolded her son, who looked rather terrified as he looked up at his mother's sharp glare. The woman then sighed and shook her head. "I suppose it makes sense you would meet her like this."

"Melody?" Another voice asked. There was a rustling and out from the brush appeared Harmony, who looked somewhat worried, though that faded immediately upon seeing her daughter safe and sound. "There you are, Peanut. Please don't go running off like that, you're gonna give me _more_ gray hairs. Your father is more than enough of a trouble maker."

"Sorry, mama." Harmony just smiled kindly and pulled the girl into a hug.

'I'm not mad, Peanut. I was just worried. I see you've met the Larsson's then? How are you, Veronica?"

"Hello, Harmony. I've been fine for the most part, just dealing with the worries of living with Axel and this little monster," the blonde replied with a sweet smile and another tug at the ear of Nathan. "I must say, it's good to see you out of uniform."

"Uniform?" Nathan questioned, looking at his mother quizzically, despite the fact that his ear was still trapped within her clutches. His mother shushed him, ignored his pout, and turned back to Harmony, who smiled and began to speak.

"Oh, it's not all that bad. The paperwork is always a killer, but that's all worth it when you're out patrolling the streets. Although, recently Lydia seems somewhat quiet. It's been hard on her after that whole ordeal in Yonkers, losing control of a Quirk as destructive as hers is always a problem. Anyway, we should probably be heading back. Orientation is starting in a few minutes. Come on, Peanut."

"Yes mama," Melody said, taking her mother's offered hand. A similar interaction took place between Veronica and Nathan, with the only noticeable difference being how the young boy had stuck his tongue out at his mom the moment she turned her back on him.

"That's a shame about Lydia. I imagine her Quirk can be slightly unruly at times, especially considering how dangerous magma is." Melody quirked her head at this and looked up at her mother in bemusement, but Harmony just smiled and shook her head, a message the redheaded girl knew quite well. This was 'Grown-Up Talk', something she wasn't allowed to know.

"She's just seemed so...combative these past few weeks. Getting into fights with my other sidekicks, shouting at citizens, brutally attacking villains. I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Every time I try to help she just brushes me off."

"I'm sure everything will work out, Harmony." It was at this point Melody noticed that Nathan had been trying to get her attention for the past several moments, as she'd been distracted. Grinning when he saw she was paying attention to him, he extended his hand once again.

"Like I said, friends?"

"Yeah," Melody agreed, reaching out to shake his hand, "Friends."

 _The Purpose of a Hero_

 **Modern Day**

"And that's that," Melody said as both Andi and Eris hovered directly in front of her face. It hadn't been an easy morning for the redheaded teen. While she'd gotten a fair amount of sleep, she was woken up by the shouts of Clara and Kira fighting over something trivial. After going through her morning routine she made her way to the common room and hung around with the aforementioned black-eyed girl. As it turns out she was much better at video games than Melody, up until they were interrupted by the rest of the girls joining them. It was when Melody had been asked what she had planned for the day that her morning really derailed. The next few hours were spent telling stories of her and Nathan's extensive friendship. "We've been friends ever since."

"Aw, that's adorable," Clara, from her seat at the table just five spaces away from the redhead and her little clique of friends, mocked with a roll of her eyes.

"Shut it, Clara," Kira threatened, causing the larger girl to scoff and turned her attention back to her lunch tray. Satisfied that the girl appeared unwilling to further her taunting, the black-eyed girl smiled, swiveling her head back to the others. "So, it's pretty clear to me that you're close with this Nathan guy, eh?"

"Yep. He's my best friend. Even when I thought I had nothing, I had Nathan. He was always by my side," Melody reminisced, a small smile gracing her lips. Unbeknownst to her, Andi and Eris both leaned back in their seats, to the point where they were staring at each other from behind the redhead's back, and shared a surprised look.

"Uh, sorry to run guys, but I've got to meet up with my brother," Eris quickly said, standing up and walking over to dispose of her tray. Andi also stood up but faltered slightly when making her excuse.

"Um, bathroom!" She cried and scurried off after Eris, leaving behind four immensely confused girls in their wake.

"What just happened?" Melody asked, her head tilted in confusion.

"I dunno. Those two were acting particularly weird this morning," Kira shrugged. The redhead pulled out her cell phone as she took a bit of her sandwich and nearly choked, her eyes becoming comically wide as she saw the time.

"Oh crap! I gotta go!" She quickly grabbed the wicker basket that contained a change of clothes and the post-spar food she'd made that night, and dashed out of the dining area.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

To say Andrew and Narruk were confused at the sight that awaited them when they arrived at the sparring fields would be an understatement. Crouched behind a bush on the top of a hill overlooking one of these fields were Andi and Eris. "What are you two doing?" Andrew asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Shut it!" Eris snapped back, not bothering to even look a the boy. Instead of following his classmate's example, Narruk simply walked over to the bush and peered over it to get a view of the scene below himself.

"Spying on Melody? Mind if I ask what for?" The scarred boy whispered.

"She's meeting this guy, now be quiet!" Andi growled. The two boys looked at one another, shrugged, and walked away to find a different place to spar. The girls silently watched for several more moments as Melody went about stretching and throwing a few mock punches and kicks. Then...Nathan arrived.

"SURPRISE!" The cat-boy shouted as he, quite literally, pounced out of nowhere and threw a roundhouse kick at the redhead, who seemed to have been expecting it and shifted her head to the side to avoid the blow. In retaliation, she elbowed him directly in his stomach, causing him to bend over in pain. "Ow, what the hell, Mel!?"

"That's what you get for attacking a poor, defenseless girl just trying to relax," Melody retorted, though the smug smirk on her face gave her away.

"Defenseless my ass, your crazy dad taught you too well. Besides, it's a dirty move to aim just for pressure points."

"No such thing as dirty in a fight."

"That's what someone who fights dirty would say," Nathan scoffed.

"Says the dude who tried to sneak attack me. Jeez, I thought going here and getting your butt kicked would have deflated that ego."

"Helps that I haven't gotten my butt kicked recently. Although it's kinda hard to when you're second in your class. What were you again? Ninth?" The cat-boy taunted but there was no venom behind it. Melody stuck her tongue out at the boy and got into a fighting stance.

"You're gonna get it for that, furball."

"Bring it, Casper."

"S-SHUT UP!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"So it's true then? This Narruk guy knocked you out in one blow?" Nathan asked in astonishment, an ice pack pressed up against a forming bruise on his cheek. Beside him, Melody was wrapping some bandages around her stomach, which had three very thin claw marks across it. ' _Good thing I packed the first aid kit and ice packs. This idiot still doesn't get the idea of 'sparring'.'_

"Yeah, and he's not even the strongest in my class...well, maybe he is physically, but he ranked fourth. Above him are that Clara girl I texted you about, the one that hates me, this guy named Andrew, who I haven't really talked to much, and this complete oddball Lyon. I swear this school is a meeting place for weirdos."

"That includes you then, eh?" The cat-boy teased.

"I will throw you in a pool, you overgrown tabby," Melody barked back, punching him in the arm. The two stayed quiet for a couple of minutes as they nursed their respective injuries until Nathan grinned.

"I also heard something pretty funny about the special classes yesterday."

"What's that?" The redhead asked warily.

"Apparently...you've got an admirer," he said, his smile growing when the girl groaned and hung her head.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes. There's this guy, Benji, who has literally hit on anybody of the opposite sex in this damned school, yeah. Well, last night something odd happened. He came stumbling into the dorm proclaiming he was in love. Said he'd never seen such a beautiful girl, he's got this thing for redheads see, and that he's going to woo her."

"Please stop, that's just creepy. Who just starts hitting on someone out of nowhere? Then he and Lyon nearly get into a fight. Ugh, I hope this first week was just an anomaly and I don't have to deal with this stuff for four years," Melody complained, hanging her head. Nathan snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Dad always said high school was either the best or worst time of your life. I wouldn't worry too much, things'll get better. Hell, this place is already a step up on middle school. We get to use our Quirks whenever we want, we get to live away from home, there's less of an emphasis on actual studying and more on training."

"Language. Huh, I guess I can see where you're coming from. I mean, I actually have friends other than you now, so that's an improvement," Melody stated, blatantly ignoring the indignant cry of her friend, holding one hand up to her chin. ' _I suppose it should feel weird, having all these people wanting to talk to me when before Nathan was the only one I talked to. Maybe I just stunted my social growth by being too introverted. Everyone here is so nice though, it's hard to not be friends with them...except for Clara...and Benji...I haven't talked to many of the boys outside of Narruk and Lyon...okay, maybe I'm still being a bit socially inclusive but I'm definitely happier than I was in middle school.'_

"Yo! Earth to Mel! You're having one of your weird inner monologues again, aren't you? Christ woman, no wonder I was always your only friend," Nathan said, rolling his eyes.

"If you're gonna be like that I'm not feeding you." In an instant, the boy's teasing grin disappeared and his eyes widened.

"Oh, uh...sorry Melody, I dunno what I was thinking. It's really quite a shock you weren't the most popular person in middle school. I think people were just afraid of you, not that you're unapproachable or anything! People probably just see your red hair and think 'all redheads are angry', or something, but I'd never think that! Nope, no way. In fact, I'd say-"

"Oh shut it! I swear you're such a kiss-up," Melody snorted, reaching into the wicker basket and pulling out two sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil.

"You never swear," Nathan muttered, regaining that snarky undertone his voice generally had.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing! Just saying how pretty you look today!"

"Nice recovery, moron," the redhead said as she tossed him one of the wrapped snacks. The cat-boy whooped and tore open the tin foil, his smile growing exponentially when he saw what was inside.

"YES! Tuna and salmon with melted cheese! Melody you are the greatest friend a guy could ask for!" He moaned as he sunk his teeth into the sandwich. Melody grimaced at the sight as she took a much smaller bite of her simple ham and cheese. ' _How in the world does he eat that? It's disgusting. Just making the thing makes my eyes water and nose burn. At least he doesn't like pineapple on his pizza like dad does.'_

"Hm? I didn't know eating was a part of training. Maybe some sort of carb-loading?" A familiarly creepy voice said from behind them.

"Hey Lyon," Melody greeted, turning her head to look at the orange-haired boy as she waved. ' _He's still smiling. Does he ever not?'_

"Yo, so you're the dude Benji was talking shit about, eh?" Nathan observed, seemingly unphased by the sudden appearance of Melody's classmate.

"Ah, you mean the pervert? Yes, I imagine I damaged his pride with my, how you say, 'verbal assault'? I assume he has not yet learned his lesson and is either planning some sort of way to win over Melody or some way to get vengeance on me," the boy said in his monotone voice.

"Eh, a bit of both. Said something about embarrassing you to get her attention since she was clearly interested." Despite the fact that she had only been vaguely paying attention to the boy's conversation, this line caught her off guard and nearly made her choke on her sandwich.

"What!?"

"I see I must have missed the signs. Melody is it true? I had thought you were more interested in that upperclassman with the bees than me."

"Melody interested in someone with a bee Quirk? Hell, the world must be ending," Nathan said with a laugh.

"Both of you shut up about my love life, which, at the moment, IS NON-EXISTENT FOR GOOD REASON!" Melody shrieked, punching Nathan and throwing the remainder of her sandwich at Lyon, both of which were dodged.

"Good reason you say? Does that mean you are suffering a heartbreak? I've read that these are particularly hard on teenagers, who are generally more emotional than adults. Something to do with a general naivety in terms of romance." At this point, Melody had given up and lied back on the grass, trying to ignore Nathan's chuckling. "I see, this is a much more complicated issue than I had first realized. Maybe that is why Andi and Eris attempted to stop me from approaching you."

"Andi and Eris? What do they have to do with this nightmare?" Melody inquired as she kicked Nathan in the stomach for his barely withheld laughter. Lyon, still smiling, pointed up towards a bush on the hill next to the training field.

"They have been watching you and your friend train for nearly an hour, constantly telling others not to disturb you."

"Why does that not surprise me? I'm just going back to having one friend, it was so much easier," the redhead growled as two girls emerged from the bush, each with a vaguely irritated look on their faces.

"Aw, I'm flattered, Mel," Nathan replied snarkily, wrapping one arm around the girl's shoulders. She quickly shrugged him off and shook her head.

"No, I'm going with Narruk. At least he's normal, unlike all of you!"

"What about me?" The scarred-boy in question asked as he strolled over to the ever-growing group.

"Melody says that you are to be her only friend, as having too many seems to stress her out. I do not believe that romantic feelings are playing a part in this decision, but it is a possibility," Lyon explained, only causing Narruk to blink in surprise and Melody to cry out in exasperation.

"I told you she liked Narruk better," Andi commented to Eris, who sighed and shook her head.

"Crap, I was really shipping Lyody," she stated sadly, causing Melody to raise her head to glare at the two.

"Melrruk for the win!" Andi cheered, pumping her fists into the air.

"Really? I hate all of you," Melody moaned and began slamming her head onto the ground from her prone position.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

As usual, the main headquarters of the Miller-Braun Support company was in a frenzy. Its workforce numbered in the thousands, so the ten-story building was always a complete powderkeg of activity. Even the ground floor, perhaps the least inhabited by employees, was seemingly always in a rush. At the front reception desk stood a woman with short brown hair, which was held up in a small bun, and tired eyes. While she waited for her boss to return, she rather enjoyed watching the chaos. ' _Man, it's such a nice change of pace to see everyone else running around like complete maniacs.'_

As was par for the course with a company this large, people came and went in vast numbers throughout the day. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people with all different sorts of appearances, Quirks, and attitudes, all of which the brunette had become adept to identifying in her three years as a Pro Hero. So when the main sliding glass doors opened up to reveal a man with gold colored hair and a malicious smile on his face, she immediately began to feel on edge. She inched ever so closer to the front desk, which turned out to be the right move when the man opened his mouth and began to speak, though she couldn't hear his exact words. These words, however, were followed by a sea of black flames.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **So I know it's annoying when characters speak in other languages, but I promise this is a rare event for the modern day Nathan. He rarely slips from one language to another, but this is to show just how smart he is. Despite his carefree demeanor, Nathan is extremely intelligent, kinda like Bakugo is, but instead of an asshole, Nathan wants to be everyone's friend.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed!**

 ***Nathan Translations***

 **gammal kärring=Old Hag**

 **eldigt hår=Fiery Hair**

 **NEXT TIME ON PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 11: The Man Called Spitfire**


	12. Chapter 11: The Man Called Spitfire

**Hey dudes and dudettes! Welcome back, I've got a few announcements before we hop in so let's get those outta the way, shall we?**

 **First off, this chapter is a bit of a sharp turn from the "Happy-go-lucky high school drama and action" that we've seen so far. This chapter is honestly a bit dark. I should warn you that this isn't even close to how this story will become further down the lane. So...let me know if I have to ever change the rating on this story from T to M.**

 **Second, if you haven't already heard (how couldn't you have?) we have a discord server now. It's pretty cool and the people are chill as hell. This'll be where I post announcements, polls, and even special previews of any given week's chapter a few days before release. If you're interested the link is on my profile, but if it doesn't work PM me and I'll get you a temp link.**

 **Third, the first chapter of Pokemon Journeys has, uh, admittedly hit a snag. I don't have a lot of time in these past few weeks. Work has gotten much busier and the 40 hour weeks really tire me out (cry me a river I know), so it may take time to get chapters for that story out, as this one takes priority.**

 **Think that's about everything. Alright, I hope you all enjoy and as always if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, contact me in any way you feel fit.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **August 25, 2317**

"Gah! I can't take this anymore!" Shaula whined, flopping forwards onto the breakroom table. Across from her one of her classmates, a small, scrawny girl with light red tinted skin and bright yellow hair, laughed and reached forward to pat the pinkette on her head.

"Come on, Shaula. It's not that bad. Just think, if they're eating this much and being as big a bother as you say then they're sure to leave a big tip!" The girl said, trying to reassure her coworker. The Fire Pit was a very popular restaurant amongst Pro Heroes, which is the very reason Shaula had asked her friend, Zuny, to ask her managers if they were hiring. She breezed through the interview and the first few weeks of her employment were smooth sailing. Just an hour after the usual lunch rush, a group of very strange men entered the restaurant and, unfortunately for her, were sat in her section. As the Fire Pit was a primarily buffet-centered restaurant, good for Heroes on the go to grab something quick in the middle of a shift, the scorpion-tailed girl had a fairly easy job. Sit them down, be nice, serve them drinks, be nice, check on them every ten or so minutes, be nice, and bring them their check when they were finished.

"These people aren't normal. That one big one has already cleared out HALF the buffet! I don't know where the hell he's putting it all. They're just so rowdy, I've had several tables complain!"

"OI! NEWTON, GET OUT THERE AND DO YOUR JOB!" Her boss, a stout man dressed in a fine Italian suit with greasy black hair, shouted as he stuck his head out of his office door.

"Yes, Mr. Waterton," she grumbled, grabbing her clipboard and walking towards the swinging door that connected the employee breakroom to the main dining area. The sounds of the rowdiest table in the restaurant reached her ears. One of the men, the rather manic looking one, was mumbling excitedly to himself as he connected wires to several different pieces of fruit, while another, this one calmly sipping tea, side-eyed him warily. Two of the men sat speaking in hushed tones to one another. Then...came the big one. He currently wasn't at the table, but instead gorging himself on anything within his reach, steadily working his way down the buffet table leaving not a crumb uneaten. ' _Why me?'_ Shaula mourned, hanging her head. She smacked herself in the face a few times and threw on her best smile before walking up to the table. It only took her a few seconds to discern who the leader of the group was, because as she came closer he held up a hand to his friend, the one with sharp-toothed mouths embedded in his palms, to silence him. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Yes? What is it?" He replied, his voice calm but clearly annoyed, whether at her or his companions she couldn't tell. ' _H-He's pretty cute.'_ She shook her head to clear the thoughts and gathered her courage.

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you, but I've received several complaints concerning the, um…"

"Loudness," he supplied with a smile. She nodded, slightly entranced. "Sorry about that miss, my friends here don't really get out much. They've no manners whatsoever. I'll try and keep them more in line."

"Ah, thanks," she murmured, turning to walk back to the breakroom, ignoring the burning sensation in her cheeks. After she scurried away, Spitfire scowled and reached his arm over to smack Kaboom on the back of his head.

"What part of 'lay low' did you not understand? Seriously, it's like working with children at times," the golden-haired growled, leaning back in the booth. "As I was saying, Leech. Your job is to infiltrate with Kaboom, get him in and find a suitable 'host', then get the hell out. Switch, you will stay in the safehouse, no arguments."

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir. I've no taste for such wanton destruction. Just make sure you are out of range, I'd loathe bringing such terrible news back to Lord Plague," the man said regally.

"Good, now Barty and I will be the distraction, we'll take the front while you and Kaboom get in, Leech. Everyone got it?" Everyone at the table nodded, though Kaboom only did so after being whacked in the head by Leech. Satisfied, Spitfire grinned at his men and held out his arms to either side of his body. "Alright then. Enjoy this you guys, our last meal as unwanted men. Tomorrow's headlines will introduce the world to the Black Order. All the freedom we've been enjoying by operating behind the scenes will be gone, every move we make will be monitored by the media, all our past crimes will be brought to light. Today we set in motion the end of Heroes."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Spitfire stalked along the crowded sidewalks of Yonkers, New York, his eyes set on the large looming building set just outside the city limits. The building rose at least ten stories, was made of primarily glass on the outside and had the words 'Miller-Braun' emblazoned on the roof in giant neon block letters. ' _So this is it, eh? Everyone else should be in position by now. Just waiting for me to make the first move. Plague said there were minor Heroes stationed here at all times as security guards but they shouldn't be much of a problem.'_ Spitfire thought as he closed the distance between him and the building. When he finally arrived, he wasn't shocked to see a large number of people rushing about both inside and out. ' _Heh, Fate is smiling on anyone takin' a smoke break right now.'_ Without any more preamble, he pushed open the doors, a malevolent smile overtaking his handsome features.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Black Order sends its regards. Now go in peace...meet your maker. BLACK INFERNO!" He bellowed and released a wide wave of ink-colored flames into the room, relishing in the sound of screams, though there weren't many. This particular attack was designed not to leave survivors. In an instant, it was over. The lobby, which had previously been a stark, polished white was now scorched black. ' _Hm, not even a bone left behind. Good to see my attacks work on groups as well as single targets. Something I'd never have been able to learn before.'_ His attention was grabbed when a brunette woman shakily crawled out from behind the main reception desk, somewhat singed but otherwise unharmed. "Ah, someone lived then? Interesting."

"Who...Who the hell are you?" The woman demanded, her eyes wild as they swept the room. In response, the golden-haired man's grin only grew wickedly.

"Spitfire, the Fifth General of the Black Order. Gotta say I'm shocked you managed to live through my dark fire. I'm guessing you've got some sort of flame resistant Quirk or something? Oh well, who cares? You won't be so lucky this time." Spitfire took in a deep breath and released another column of black flames that streamed towards the woman with immense speed. From her hands, she produced a small ball of crystal clear liquid before shooting a beam of water at the incoming attack. The two met and created a massive explosion of steam, the force of it sending the woman flying backward where she crashed through the glass door leading to the main floor conference rooms. She landed burnt, glass embedded in her skin, and her vision blurry. On the other side of the explosion, Spitfire merely grinned and held out his arms to welcome the shockwave, which only managed to push him back a foot or so. "That all you got girly!?"

"Damn," Nina Heartholm groaned as she tried to push herself up. In the corner of her eye, she saw that the man's flames had spread to this area, blocking one of the two emergency exits on this floor. ' _Shit, that's not good. People will have to either come through the lobby for the last exit, right into his line of fire or have to use the fire escape. Over a thousand people trying to move down that thing at once is a disaster waiting to happen. It's even worse for the people in the sub-levels. This isn't some random attack, this has been planned meticulously to ensure maximum casualties. Damnit, Boss where the hell are you?'_ She glanced up and her eyes widened as she watched a group of people, who had most likely come down the staircase, standing in front of the golden-haired fire breather. He smirked at them and opened his mouth. "Get away!" She tried to warn them, but it was too late. Her meager lunch made a sudden reappearance as she watched five lives snuffed out, leaving behind no trace except the piles of ash that were just as quickly blown away from the force behind the attack.

"Oi, Leech. You and Kaboom are good to go. Get him down below and retrieve 'it' while you're there. Have Barty toss you to the second story...tell him not to throw you too hard." Nina's eyes widened at this. ' _There are more of them? I gotta get in touch with Boss.'_ She reached into one of the pouches of her belt and pulled out a small, pager-like item. "Oh? What's this? Calling for help are you?"

"No!" The brunette cried as Spitfire wretched the device out of her hands and stomped on it. He grinned down at her, black wisps leaking through the spaces between his teeth.

"Sorry 'bout your luck, girly. Fate is such a fickle thing sometimes. Killing isn't something I generally enjoy doing, but we all must do things we despise when destiny comes calling. Just think, your death is a brick in the foundation of the new world the Black Order will build. Take pride in the fact that, by dying here you've accomplished more than you ever could as a false Hero," Spitfire proclaimed, patting the girl on her cheek before rising. He opened his mouth and Nina nearly gasped at the sight of a sphere of black fire raging in the depths of his throat. The moment before the flames engulfed her however, the golden-haired man was thrown back as a man with boxing gloves punched his square in the face.

"Don't worry, Aqua! We'll handle this joker for you!" The man, whose green eyes were narrowed in anger, cried. Beside him, another man, this one dressed fully in a black cloak scowled at Spitfire, who got up laughing.

"Well, well. Gotta say, that shocked me. Let's see...Piston, the Punching Hero, and Dove, the Perfect Hero. Listed number thirty-seven and eighty-four respectively, if my memory serves me right. I'm impressed, Miller-Braun managed to convince the two of you morons into serving their greedy, corporate will."

"Cease your speaking, Villain," Dove growled before throwing off his cloak to reveal two massive, pearl white bird wings.

 **The Perfect Hero Dove**

 **His Quirk: Wings**

 **Dove has a pair of wings that allow him to fly. His current wingspan is nearly eighteen feet, though he claims it to be twenty.**

"Taste my justice!" The man cried before swooping towards Spitfire, who grinned and ducked to avoid the flying roundhouse kick, only to grunt in pain as Piston used his spring-powered arms to deliver a devastating punch to the man's stomach. The firebreather slid backward and coughed, spewing a small number of flames in the process.

 **The Punching Hero Piston**

 **His Quirk: Mach Punch**

 **Piston can use the springs located in his arms to deliver punches at Mach speed.**

"You won't get away with the crimes you've committed today, Villain!" Piston pronounced. Then, to the shock of the three present Heroes, started to laugh. He bent backward and laughed deep from his stomach, flames shooting out in the process.

"You must be joking! This is all you've got!? HA! Your power is weak! I'll turn each of you to ash!" He roared. The temperature in the room began to increase, slowly at first, but then Spitfire opened his maw wide and a wave of flames, possibly even hotter than the ones he'd used to melt the lobby earlier, sailed towards the three Pros. Dove grabbed Nina and flew out of the way, while Piston leaped as far as he could and managed to get out of the way. The flames kept going and connected with the far wall, easily melting through and carving a hole through several walls before emerging onto the busy street behind the building and colliding with a bus, causing it to explode. "Impressive, you dodged my Black Dragon's Rage. Do you see now, the power you face? I WIELD THE FLAMES OF TARTAROS ITSELF! ANYTHING IN MY PATH IS REDUCED TO ASH, AND YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN STAND AGAINST ME?"

"Damn, this guy is strong. We've gotta be careful," Dove stated. Nina nodded in agreement, barely able to stand on her own two feet, but frowned as Piston shook his head.

"We're no match for him. He managed to take one of my punches and is still standing, not to mention burn through tempered steel with his fire. I only hope a qualified Hero can show up soon. Maelstrom? Is your boss here?" The Punching Hero asked, turning his head to look at Nina, who sighed.

"He was underground when the attack started. I think sub-level ten? The fire has shut down the elevators and the door to the basement stairs is welded shut. I have no doubt he'll get here eventually, but until then we have to buy some time," she explained, standing up straighter and formed a large ball of water between her palms.

 **The Riptide Hero Maelstrom**

 **Her Quirk: Water Pulse**

 **Maelstrom can form a sphere of water that she can manipulate into any size or shape.**

"Buy time? Alright, let's see how well you do that. It's been a long time since I was able to let loose with my Quirk at full power, not to mention how much stronger I've gotten in the past year since Plague found me. This is what I've been waiting for! I WILL ENJOY SEEING YOU BURN!" Spitfire declared, releasing another blast from his mouth, this one significantly cooler than the one from before, but no less deadly. Maelstrom sighed and shouted for her fellow Heroes to get out of the way before releasing a laser of water from the sphere.

"Mach 1 Puncheroo!" Piston shouted as he sprinted towards Spitfire. The villain dodged to the side as the Punching Hero slammed his fist into the ground where he'd just been standing, creating a crater. "You're fast!"

"You're just slow! You say Mach 1, but that's not really correct is it? Your punches are based on the force rather than speed. Your springs make them faster sure, but really they just increase the destructive power of your punches by giving them the force of something moving at Mach speed. An easy deception for your enemies," the fire-breather claimed, smirking at the shocked look on Piston's face. He then turned and launched an attack at Dove, who'd been attempting to dive bomb him while he was distracted. The flames surprised the Perfect Hero and he managed to bank to the side just in time to avoid being burnt...that is until he felt an intense pain in his left wing.

"DOVE!" Piston shouted as his partner's snow-white wing was engulfed in flames. The flier fell from the air and slammed, hard into one of the plate glass windows that lined the front of the room, breaking through it and crashing into a passing car's windshield. The Punching Hero didn't have time to worry about his friend though, as Spitfire's next attack was aimed solely at him. "MACH 2 PUNCHEROO!" He cried, throwing his fist forward as he swept under the flames. His target's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, before narrowing. The fire-breather leaned his head to the side to dodge, only to be shocked when Piston caught him in the stomach with his other fist. In the span of a second, Spitfire flew through the air and skidded across the linoleum floor until he hit the wall. ' _A feint. Very smart, these guys are truly battle-tested Pro Heroes so I didn't expect them to last long, but I'm actually starting to enjoy this.'_

"BLACK INFERNO!" Spitfire bellowed, releasing his wide-spread attack. Piston grimaced and quickly glanced to each side looking for an escape, but the flames left him no space to move. He reared back his fist, ready to go with a full-powered punch to try and deflect the flames when he felt a pair of hands lift him up. It was Dove, his face twisted in anger and one of his immaculate wings singed black, many of its feathers burn completely off.

"Don't be an idiot, Piston. This guy's just messing around," Dove growled, glaring daggers at the fire-breather, who just looked up at them with a manic grin on his face. "Look at him, he's waiting for us to make our next move. This whole fight he's just been toying with us."

"What do you have in mind?" Piston asked, though his focus was on his partner's twisted and mangled right leg. When he noticed the Punching Hero's gaze, Dove sighed.

"I'm not walking anytime soon. From this moment on, I'm your aerial support, it's up to you and Maelstrom...speaking of which, gotta let you go!" The flier suddenly said, releasing his friend and flying over to their female teammate, who had tried to sneak attack the fire-breather, to little effect.

"Come on! You still haven't given me the fight I want! Give me everything you have! Stop holding back!" Spitfire yelled furiously. He glanced up to Dove, who's eyes hardened, and began building up an attack. "BLACK DRAGON'S RAGE!"

"SWIRLING WHIRLPOOL!" Nina screamed, attempting to get her attack to intercept the flames. However, Spitfire's power was too strong for the hastily made counter.

"NO, MALCOLM!" Piston cried out as the fire cut through the massive sphere of water like butter and completely enveloped the white-winged Hero. The fire didn't stop at Dove either, it continued through him and split through the roof of the first floor and out of the wall of the second and even into the adjacent building.

"Pity, bird-brain probably should've stayed out there after his wing was burnt. Before I hit him earlier he would've easily dodged that. Fate hasn't been kind to you Heroes today,' Spitfire said morosely, popping some sort of lozenge into his mouth and swallowing it dry. He sighed as he looked at his two opponents, both shocked beyond belief at what they'd just seen. "This is the fate that awaits both of you if you continue this fight. I'm a nice guy, so I'll give you one last chance. Leave now and I will let the both of you live. It's abundantly clear to me that neither of you can stand before me as my equal, and together you still don't come close to my power. Just go, I wouldn't hold it against you."

"You fucker!" Piston roared, He rushed forwards, tears streaming down his cheeks, and reared back his fist. "MACH 10 PUNCHEROO!" His springs groaned in protest but still caused the air around his fist to spark as it soared at the villain, who sighed and dodged it easily, stepping confidently into the Punching Hero's guard. He shoved his own fist into the Hero's gut and then kicked his legs out from under him.

"Pathetic. Your anger blinds you, this fight is over. You don't have to die, but you will if you continue." Spitfire's eyes shifted to the side and he managed to sidestep as a sharp beam of water split through the air.

"WE'RE HEROES! WE WON'T QUIT!" Nina screamed, sending blast after blast of pressurized water at the Villain, who sidestepped each and every one. He sighed, evaded the haphazardly thrown fist from Piston, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and threw him into Maelstrom, sending the two collapsing into a pile.

"That's what I hate most about Heroes. There is no changing Fate, yet you still try and fight it. When faced with an enemy far above your own skillset, you stubbornly throw yourselves at them until you die. Do you really have that much faith in the system? You believe yourself above those you try to save. Just think how many employees or visitors to this company could stand and fight against me, help others escape, or stop the blaze threatening to burn the neighboring building, but because of the Quirk restrictions placed into law by lawmakers two hundred years ago who feared the effects of these new powers, each and every person in this building will die." Both Maelstrom and Piston stared at Spitfire in shock as he finished his rant. Seeing the shock on their faces only seemed to enrage the fire-breather more as he took another deep breath. However, before he could a dozen thick vines sprouted from the floor beneath him. They quickly wrapped themselves around the Villain, trapping his arms at his sides.

"Boss!" Maelstrom said in relief as an immense amount of vegetation burst through the doors of one of the lobby's five elevators. Spitfire's eyes widened in realization as a man, who was oddly dressed in similar clothing to the women Spitfire had seen on gardening magazine covers, emerged riding a vine as thick as a python.

"You sonofabitch, Plague. You said there would be some minor Heroes as security, you said nothing about the number one!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Meanwhile, trouble was brewing in the boy's dorm at U.S.A.E.I. Trouble in the name of Benji Wallaby. Oliver sighed as he watched the black-haired boy, who despite it only being the end of the first week had already gained a reputation as a pervert, argued with Lyon...or more accurately argued _at_ Lyon. The orange-haired boy simply stared at him with that strange smile of his. "So damn noisy," he muttered as he picked up his black knight and knocked a white pawn off the chess board that lay on the coffee table before him. Marcus, his opponent and arguably friend, just laughed as he watched the carnage unfold.

"At least they've got spirit," the gray-haired boy added, his eyes looking over the board, trying to find his next move. Oliver's expression didn't change as his knight was taken, because immediately he moved his rook and a small smile graced his lips.

"Checkmate."

"Ah, damn! Why do you always win?" Marcus lamented, pouting slightly. As Oliver began moving the pieces back to their original spots, the gray-haired boy turned his attention back to the escalating screaming match. "Three...two...one," he mumbled and, right on cue, Narruk walked over and based both boys over the head, ignoring the fact that Lyon hadn't said a word.

"Both of you knock it off! I swear, ever since Friday all you two have done is argue. We're supposed to be on the same side."

"NO! WE ARE RIVALS IN LOVE AND I WILL NOT LET HIM HAVE HER!" Benji roared, pointing his finger accusingly at Lyon, who...as usual just smiled away.

"How exactly are we rivals if we are sure she despises you and tolerates me?" Lyon inquired, seemingly unphased at how he spoke of himself.

"S-SHUT UP, RIVAL!"

"Wait, those two are fighting over Melody?" Nathan asked from his seat on the couch, not too far away from the chess players.

"Did you just wake up?" That was Sirius, who'd been trying to watch television over the noise of the fight. When Nathan grinned awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, the indigo-haired boy shook his head. "Yes, Benji claims they are love rivals."

"Pft, that is amazing! Hold up, I gotta send a video of this to Mel. OI, BENJI! That dude said you had no chance with Melody because she loves that guy!" Nathan shouted, first pointing at Lyon and then at Narruk, who narrowed his eyes at the boy. Benji exploded again just in time as Nathan began recording on his mobile phone.

"This place is exhausting," Oliver groaned. Marcus laughed and made the first move, pushing one of his pawns forward.

"There's never a dull moment."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Huh, well that was dramatic. So a few ending notes. I didn't use submitted characters, though I was going to, for this fight because I knew one of or all of them would die. This doesn't mean I will avoid this in the future. I'm sorry to say there will character death in this story. Characters you have submitted will die, I'm sad to say. If you have any concerns about this, just message me. Odds are low but still entirely possible that a character you submit that didn't make it into my lineup of main characters will die. This may seem repetitive, but I'm just warning you now so no one complains when this happens (though I doubt that will stop people).**

 **Welp, that's done. Hope you all enjoyed!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 12: Overgrown**


	13. Chapter 12: Overgrown

**Heeeeeeeeey dudes/dudettes! Howsit going? So I'm gonna keep this quick (for real this time!). I also realized I forgot a few things last time so let's get right to it.**

 **First off, HUGE thanks to IWriteWhenTheHiatusStrikes for beta-ing these chapters. He's done an amazing job so far so give him some love.**

 **Second, I completely forgot this last time, but this is a new arc, which means…New Opening and Ending Songs. So I already have a playlist of possible openings and endings for this story but if you have a suggestion feel free to let me know. The only stipulation is no songs from other Anime, not that I don't like them I just want an "original soundtrack' for this story.**

 **Opening: House on Fire - Rise Against (Not the last time you'll see them as an Opening)**

 **Ending: Go to War - Nothing More**

 **Okay, that's it I think (I'm sure I'll remember more things later but to hell with it). I hope you all enjoy and as always if you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to drop me a PM, leave a review, message me on Discord, or just email me. Enjoy!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The lobby was eerily silent. The distant sounds of sirens from arriving first responders, the adjacent building burning to the ground and the screams of employees from the upper levels all seemed distant as Spitfire looked at the man who'd interrupted his fight. He was tall, probably around six-foot-five, and had short, stringy green hair, with what looked like clumps of dirt tangled in it, hiding his vibrant green eyes. What caught the teen's eye the most though, was his outfit. He was dressed exactly like the models on the covers of gardening magazines. The only difference was the large, bright yellow utility belt that wrapped around his waist. Unlike similar garments, he had a second layer of pouches hanging beneath the first. Spitfire snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Huh, I was expecting more."

"Maelstrom, status?" His cold voice demanded, though his eyes never left the entangled Villain. Behind him, Nina let out a sigh of relief and straightened slightly before answering.

"The enemy has an extraordinarily strong fire Quirk. His flames are able to disintegrate anything in their path, including steel and...uh, well...human bodies," she said uncomfortably, sending a sidelong glance at Piston, who was staring into the hole from Spitfire's earlier attack. Overgrown nodded and turned his head ever so slightly towards his sidekick.

"Contact first responders, the stairway to the upper levels is completely blocked off. Once they arrive please assist in putting out the blaze. I fear this may not be the only Villain. Therefore, Piston, you shall stand guard while I ascend and–" Overgrown stopped as Spitfire began to laugh.

"Cocky, aren't we? You think this fight is over?" The golden-haired man said, his tone filled with malice. He opened his mouth and black flames leaked from it, falling like a waterfall onto the vines that held him captive. The thick green prison quickly turned black and fell apart like it was made of sand. "No, no, no we are just getting started."

"Be careful, we'll cover for you!" Maelstrom exclaimed, raising her hands to generate another ball of water. She faltered when her boss held up one hand while the other dipped to his belt, pulling a few brown seeds from one of the assorted pouches.

"You are too injured. Allow me to deal with him quickly," the Number One Hero proclaimed. He held his hand out, palm facing towards the ceiling, and it glowed a bright green color that matched his eyes. The seeds split and grew into more vines, all of which shot towards Spitfire with the force of a bullet.

"BRING IT!" He bellowed as wisps of smoke curled out of his manically grinning mouth. He released a column of midnight black flames from his maw that engulfed the vines, easily burning right through them and continuing towards the trio of Heroes. Overgrown's eyes narrowed and he reached for his pouches, only for a massive burst of water to slam into the flames. The attacks canceled out with a hiss as steam filled the room. Nina stood there, breathing heavily and staring at her hands in amazement, which soon turned to realization and then fear.

"He's toying with us. His flames beat my water easily just a few moments ago," she muttered. The green-haired Hero looked at her for a moment, as if he were contemplating something, then turned to face Spitfire, who sneered.

"His power has a limit. All Quirks do. Flames that hot must put quite the strain on one's throat, perhaps he is nearing his limits. In any case, our basic plan still stands. I will finish the job here, Piston will go to the upper floors and Maelstrom you contact emergency services. Go now." As he said this, Overgrown took out another handful of seeds. This time, a large wall of hedges grew horizontally from his palm. Piston looked as if he were going to argue, but in the end, he just looked away dejectedly before rushing towards the out of service elevator, yanking the door open and leaping into the empty shaft. Maelstrom also looked somewhat hesitant to leave her boss, though she knew better than to disobey. She made for a hole in the nearest wall, the result of an attack earlier in the battle.

"Alright, I've run outta patience," Spitfire growled as the hedges burned away and he saw what was happening. "OI! BARTY GET IN HERE!" There was a sound like dozens of cannons going off in tandem and only too late did Nina figure out it was very, very heavy footsteps. The wall she was running towards exploded in a shower of concrete and dust. From the newly formed crevice in the wall came an absolute mountain of a man. He stood over eleven feet tall and nearly as wide. His beady brown eyes were alight with excitement. He was completely bald, though a much too small blonde wig was attached to his head by a thin wire tied beneath his chin, making it more of a furry bike helmet. When his eyes landed on the golden-haired man he grinned widely and sprinted towards him, his arm catching Nina in the midsection as he passed. The accidental blow sent the poor girl crashing through several plaster walls until she skidded to a stop in the empty lot behind the building, a large gash on her head and a dazed look in her eyes.

I'm 'ere Mista Spitfire!" Barty bellowed in his thick cockney accent, a look of absolute glee on his face. Spitfire sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Yeah, I see that Bart. Help me deal with these clowns, eh?"

"Uh, right, mister Spitfire I don't see any clowns…" the man said stupidly, his head whipping from side to side, looking for people with rainbow wigs and big shoes. The dull throb in his head that Spitfire usually got whenever the big man spoke returned with a vengeance.

"Not...not actual clowns, moron. Just, ugh...just attack the guy dressed as a gardener!" The golden-haired male commanded. For a moment, Barty was silent as he pondered the order.

"Right, right, okay! Attack the gardener, got it!" He turned towards Overgrown, who had been watching the exchange in silence with a look of confusion marring his features. With a loud, guttural roar he charged. Spitfire hummed as he watched his companion fruitlessly attack the Number One Hero, swinging his telephone pole-sized arms like clubs. ' _This isn't going as I imagined. We've gotta lead him out of the building so I can go full power. I'd rather not bring down this whole building. Not flashy enough. Besides, Plague was very specific about this. Oh well, time to improvise.'_

"To hell with it," he lamented before rushing into battle, thick smoke billowing out of his mouth.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"GUYS!" Sirius' panicked voice cried. Immediately, everything in the Boy's Dormitory stopped. Oliver and Marcus froze in their game of chess, the former turning in his chair, Benji and Lyon's argument halted, while Narruk's amber colored eyes turned steely as the reason for his classmate's fearful tone became apparent. On the flat screen television, a female news reporter with lavender hair spoke in a shaky voice, the scene behind her grim.

" _This is Amber Lockheart, News Six Brooklyn, with a special news report from Miller-Braun Support Company, which is now confirmed as the site of a large scale Villain attack. As you can see behind me, smoke and black flames are currently raging through Miller-Braun's main campus and many of the surrounding buildings. First responders and Heroes are on the scene, but all attempts to enter the building or put out the blaze have thus far been unsuccessful. Regurge, the thirty-fifth ranked Hero and a Rescue Specialist has stated that the flames are unlike anything he has seen, completely resistant to his attempts at putting them out with his spit. A special eye-witness report says that a man with golden-colored hair and dressed in a cloak entered the building just seconds before it exploded. There is believed to be nearly eight hundred people trapped inside the Miller-Braun building's upper floors, while another three have been trapped in adjacent buildings due to fire damage. We will continue to update you with news as soon as it comes to light."_ A pit settled in the bottom of Sirius' gut. The room, which had been filled with the sounds of a couple dozen teenage boys enjoying their time off just moments ago, was completely silent.

"So this is how it begins then?" Lyon said suddenly, his gaze never straying from the screen. Many of the students in the room looked at him quizzically. Sensing they were waiting for him to go on, the orange-haired boy opened his mouth and spoke in a mysterious tone. "Mr. Holl mentioned this. With the defeat of All Might, Villains will become bolder. I fear this is just the beginning."

"Hey! Turn it up Fish!" A voice shouted. Just then a boy, no younger than sixteen, vaulted over the couch Sirius was sitting on and stared intently at the four pictures the newswoman now stood beside.

" _We now have confirmed that four Heroes are currently engaged in combat with the attacking Villain. The Punching Hero Piston, the Perfect Hero Dove, the Storm Hero Maelstrom, and the Green Hero himself, Overgrown. It seems that there is indeed more than one Villain as well. We must warn all civilians to st-"_ The reporter was cut off abruptly as a figure came crashing out of the front glass wall of the building, propelled by thick green vines.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Damn, this dude packs a punch," Spitfire grunted, as he lied half-embedded into the front hood of a parked car. His improvisation plan had gone...poorly to say the least. ' _This guy doesn't mess around. Ah well, I'll live. At least the fight is moving outside now. That should give Leech enough time to dispose of that punchy guy and put the plan into action._ ' The Villain groaned, as did the car hood when he pushed himself up and cracked his neck. He glanced over and saw Barty still attempting to land a hit on the Hero, but to no avail. Overgrown was just too fast for the lumbering oaf, dodging his windmill like punches with a grace Spitfire never thought he'd see in a gardener. "Black Inferno!" Just like his last few attacks, Overgrown used his agility to move out of the attack's path, causing it to sear through a large portion of the building's west wall.

"STAND DOWN! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" A new voice demanded. Spitfire rolled his head to the side lazily and observed the battalion of police cars and news vehicles splayed out along Miller Road. The man speaking was someone he recognized.

"The Spewing Hero Regurge. You can use your storage stomach to store a large variety of objects, including spit which you use to put out fires...gross." The Hero flinched slightly at this and glared at the Villain. He held up a hand and every police officer raced forwards with their guns drawn, ready to fire.

"I'm in the middle of something, back off," Spitfire snarled, looking back to where Barty was turned into a large, pudgy mummy with the spiked stems of roses. However, once he broke free, which the massive man made seem incredibly easy, he didn't have a scratch on him. As Regurge gave the order to fire, Spitfire turned his head and roared. "BLACK STAMPEDE!" The ensuing wave of fire eclipsed everything he'd shown so far, racing from his mouth like a hoard of mad, scorching hot horses, blitzing through the police line like it wasn't there at all. Cars exploded, screaming voices were quickly silenced, and two dozen officers disappeared in an instant. All along the street, for at least half a mile, the front of every building was scorched black from the ground floor up to, in the worst cases, the third story. This was the first time the Villain's power surprised Overgrown. ' _Seems he isn't as weak as he was projecting. He could've been possibly holding back due to the battleground. Outdoors...he may be many times as powerful.'_ The thought greatly disturbed him.

"This is your last chance, Villain. Forfeit and give yourself over to the law and your sentence may be lighter," the Number One promised, reaching for a specific seed located near the back of his belt. Spitfire looked at him like he'd sprouted a third head.

"You know what? That's the problem with Heroes. Your fatal flaw is arrogance! You claim to be protectors of the people, but where were Heroes when I melted dozens of people in the lobby? There was even a Hero present, but she saved herself instead of trying to stop me. It's infuriating. HEROES ONLY SHOW UP WHEN THE CAMERAS START ROLLING!" The Villain sounded as angry as ever but Overgrown was somewhat surprised to see the pain in his stormy gray eyes. "YOU'RE NEVER THERE WHEN PEOPLE NEED YOU MOST! IT PISSES ME OFF!" The next attack was nearly overwhelming for the Hero. Black flames rushed out of Spitfire's mouth like a tidal wave. It swept through the streets, turning everything it came in contact with to ash.

"Redwood Tower," Overgrown muttered and dropped the glowing green seeds to the ground. In the fraction of a second before the fire would have consumed him a massive, fifty-meter tall tree sprouted from the ground and carried him far above the churning inky ocean. The tree lurched as the lower part of its trunk was turned to charcoal. His eyes widened as he watched the small coffee shop in the path of the flames explode. All in all, almost an entire city block was turned pitch black. Cars, storefronts, and emergency vehicles smoldered and smoked. The area around Spitfire, ground zero, had the worst damage. Instead of being blackened, slightly melted in some cases, it was as if an atomic bomb had gone off. A circle fifty feet in diameter of nothing but a slim layer of ash. The only thing remaining was the man himself, sucking in air as a desperate attempt at refilling his lungs.

"Damn, that was a bit more intense than I'd expected," he grumbled to himself. In the corner of his eye, he watched the Miller-Braun building, just two blocks away, and frowned. ' _This...no, Kaboom should have made his move by now. Leech must've been held up.'_ He stopped when he noticed his main threat. Overgrown was staring at him from the roof of one of the burnt buildings, looking no worse for the wear. He also saw Barty, slightly charred, crawling out from under an overturned bus. "Barty, why didn't you get out of the way?"

"Well, right, I were gonna but then I forgot," he said, scratching at his bald head, his wig had burned off in the attack. "Mr. Spitfire! Yer burnt me 'air off!"

"Cry about it later, we're not done yet. I need you to stall this clown while I refuel." The golden-haired man reached into his pocket, pulled out a small, purple square, and popped it into his mouth.

"Yer got it, Mr. Spitfire, I'm bloody well gonna clobber 'im!" Barty responded with a battle cry. He then charged at Overgrown with his hands held high. "FOR ME 'AIR!" The green-haired Hero, however, barely flinched and tossed out four seeds. The seeds glowed green and grew into four more fifty-meter redwoods, completely surrounding Barty on all sides.

"Redwood Prison," he murmured, turning his attention to Spitfire, who scowled.

"Damn, should've seen that coming." He put his hand up to his earpiece and began to speak, ignoring Overgrown's murderous glare. "Oi, Leech? What's the hold-up? I've got a very angry first ranked Hero down here and not a lot of options."

" _Bit busy myself, Boss!"_ The angry voice of his companion yelled over the sounds of terrified screams. Spitfire groaned and shook his head. ' _This is not going as planned. I can't use my full power for a bit while my fire recharges, so I gotta focus on close combat and not getting caught in his traps. Easier said than done,'_ He thought bitterly.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Switcheroo sighed as he watched the black flames erupting over the rooftops. He really didn't envy his teammates' jobs in this operation. While he simply sat on the rooftop of an office building and sipped a cup of Irish black tea. "I wonder...just how long will this take. It has already been nearly half an hour and still, no progress has been made. At this rate, we will miss our deadline and displease Lord Plague. Sometimes I wish I were assigned to Master Prophets detail instead of this upstart. Though...I must admit he is strong for someone so young. By the time he reaches my age, well, I would not want to cross him. If it were not for Master Prophet, he could easily contend for the strongest in our organization," the red-haired man mused. He watched as the flames grew in tandem with a massive tree and swept ever closer to his position. "Hmph, he better get control of himself soon. The stronger he appears, the more Heroes will come. We cannot allow this operation to fail, lest it make the Black Order a laughing stock."

"You sound so sure," a new voice added. Switch tensed and turned his head to see a woman dressed in an expensive dress with an opening that showed off her more provocative features.

"Lady Vesuvius. To what do I owe the honor?" Switch asked, slightly stunned. The woman just grinned widely and swept her long, brown hair behind her ear. She looked out over the battlefield before her and smiled.

"I came to observe our newest member. Quite the firecracker isn't he? Being so bold as to serve himself up as a distraction to allow his underlings to collect all the glory. Very interesting, I look forward to seeing his growth. Plague chose well, wouldn't you say?" Switch nodded and grabbed a small piece of metal, some sort of screw, from the ground next to him. He placed it on the edge of the roof beside him and put his hands together, the fingertips of his right hand touching their twin on the left. He then shifted his right just a bit and allowed his fingers to intertwine, leaving him looking as if he were praying. The screw shuddered and was replaced by a second cup of the strong-smelling black tea. Vesuvius took the offered drink and settled herself down beside him. "His loyalties do not lie with us, you know this don't you?"

"I...suspected as much. He holds no love for us, but his ideals push him to ally with the Black Order's own." The brunette nodded and grinned into her cup.

"He reminds me of myself...back in the day. I too had a particular set of truths that I clung to with all my being. I believe that once he's realized we are not his enemy, he will become our strongest warrior. His skill with his Quirk is far greater than my own, even at my prime. His combat sense is beyond anything I've seen. I dare to say, if he'd stayed on the path he was on before joining us he would be well on his way to becoming a top ten Hero. Unfortunately, there is still a great divide between his and Overgrown."

"They seem fairly equal, madame," Switch commented, causing Vesuvius to make a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat.

"If not for the rules of nature, Spitfire would have been defeated long ago," the woman's eyebrow then quirked upwards and she glanced over her shoulder. "It would seem we have company."

"Yo!" It was Leech. He walked towards them with a newly forming black eye and a cut on his lip. Over his shoulder, slung on there like a sack of flour, was someone Switch didn't know. "Sorry, I'm late. Got a bit held up. Kaboom is in place, so we should be good to go whenever Spit gets far enough away. Oh, and I found this on my way out. Good enough for a host if I do say so myself." He hefted the unconscious person off his shoulder and threw her to the ground unceremoniously. Vesuvius' eyes lit up with a manic sort of glee.

"I've seen her before. Maelstrom or something." Switch set his tea down and got up to observe the sleeping girl. He pulled out a small, thermometer-type device and began prodding different areas of her body. Once he was done, he hummed in appreciation.

"I'm surprised. You managed to find a near perfect specimen. You gave her the shot already, I presume?" Leech rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"'Course I did. What do you take me for? Oh hell!" Leech laughed as he made his way over to watch the mountain of flames, now just four blocks away. "I ain't ever seen the Boss go this hard before. I wonder how many he's already killed? I know they started an evacuation, but still. His kill count has gotta be in the hundreds!"

"I will admit, I'm quite impressed he is still able to produce flames of such volume. He must have taken the supplement I gave him. For a test run, it seems to be doing its job," Switch mused, his eyes glinting as the flames consumed another building. At this point, the flames had spread to encompass much of the area surrounding the Miller-Braun building, which stood above the flames and smoke like a lighthouse over the mist.

"Supplement?" Vesuvius inquired, her interest peaked. She'd wondered how her fellow General hadn't torn his throat apart from constant use of thousand-degree flames. Leech groaned and tried to signal her to stop but it was too late, Switch already had a look of giddiness in his eyes.

"It is based on the drug Trigger, I'm sure you've heard of it. Whereas Trigger simply increases the taker's Quirk and subsequently enrages the user causing very, very bad side effects, my formula augments the user's Quirk. It increases potency while lowering recovery time by burning calories and fat as fuel. The only truly adverse side effect is that as the drug wears off, the user could be put out of commission for days, weeks, possibly even months at a time, depending on the degree of usage one gives it." Switcheroo explained.

"Impressive. I assume you and Dr. Moira worked together on this?" Vesuvius asked. Switch nodded, though his expression turned to one of disdain.

"As infuriating as the woman is...she certainly is intelligent. I've been working on this formula for many years and only recently have I made progress. Spitfire holds the first successful drug we've managed to create. With further research, I'm certain we could create a formula that causes the augmentation to be indefinite."

" _LEECH!"_ Spitfire's voice suddenly interrupted over the radio channel. The gloved man grimaced and reached up to his earpiece.

"I hear ya, Boss. You seem to be having fun, what's the problem?"

" _It is almost time. Call in our evac and be ready to move. You better have found a host."_ Despite the fact that the man was out of eyesight, Leech flinched when he imagined his expression, his gray eyes burning with anger.

"I did. Pretty good one, Switch says. You havin' a good time over there kicking greenhouse's ass?" He asked cheekily. He heard the line cut off for a moment and saw a massive plume of black flames rocket into the air in the distance. "I'll take that as a yes."

" _Fuck off and get our evac! Tell Kaboom I just need a little more time to get out of range. What of the employees?"_ Leech grinned insanely, his eyes staring at the building on the horizon.

"Getting ready to enjoy the fireworks."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Hm, quite a bit went down this chapter, eh? Spitfire killed a lot of people and the Black Order's plan is a bit off the rails but going pretty good all things considered. I hope you guys enjoyed and let's get right to the preview...chapter name reveal...thingy.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 13: Leech vs. Piston**


	14. Chapter 13: Piston vs Leech

**Hey dudes and dudettes. How're your weekends going? This won't be a long author's note because I just woke up and don't have the energy. Anyway, there is an 85% chance that this will be my first Double Update Week. If I finish it in time, there will be another chapter uploaded tomorrow or Monday.**

 **As always thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing.**

 **Make sure to check out our discord.**

 **I hope you all enjoy, if you have any questions comments or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know via your preferred messaging thing. Let's get going!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Spitfire grunted as a massive sunflower sprouted, slammed into him, and sent him crashing into the side of a travel agency. This was basically how the battle had progressed the past few minutes. The golden-haired Villain was seemingly running out of steam and on the defensive, while Overgrown battered him with relentless attacks intended to wear him down enough to capture him in those damned vines. ' _Shit, and I had the gall to call Heroes cocky...I'm no better, I should've known better than to get comfortable. This guy is Number One for a reason.'_ He though in dismay as he shot a blast of grayish flames from his mouth, cursing mentally as he did so. ' _Almost spent.'_

Overgrown easily dodged the attack, which had none of the ferocity of his earlier strikes, and attempted to punch Spitfire as he recovered. At the last moment, he moved so that the blow caught him in his right pectoral instead of his solar plexus. He countered with a high kick but was swept off his feet by the Hero, who seemed to have been expecting it. The Villain rolled away from a stomp and hastily got to his feet, only to nearly be knocked off them again by a flurry of thorned rose stems hitting him hard in the stomach. Spitfire slid backward and clutched at his injured abdomen. "Dammit."

"You've weakened as I said you would. Your flames have lost their heat. Now would be a good time for you to surrender, it's clear that this battle shall be going in my favor," Overgrown stated matter-of-factly, poker face still intact. Spitfire turned his gray eyes, which raged like a wildfire, onto the man and sneered.

"Go to hell, flower-head. I'm still standing, so I'm good enough to keep fighting. Black Buckshot!" He roared and, instead of his normal steady stream of flames, he pursed his lips and shot small projectiles, which moved at blinding speeds but carried far less power behind them, especially in his tired condition. Overgrown managed to dodge a majority of the miniature missiles and those that did hit him bounced off easily. ' _Well that didn't work. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn! I shouldn't have gone all out when we first got outside. Showing off really hurt my longevity in this fight, plus useless Barty still hasn't gotten outta that damned tree prison.'_ Spitfire scowled at the four massive redwood trees in the distance, he could only make out the top thirty feet or so above the roofs of nearby buildings. "Bla-"

"Redwood Prison." Spitfire's eyes widened, he swore and leaped to the side, just barely avoiding the finisher. He stood shakily, his knees nearly buckling, and glared at Overgrown, who just regarded him with the same deadpan expression he'd worn for most of the battle. "You realize you accomplish nothing by continuing this fight, yes? There is no point. You shall answer for the crimes you've committed today. There is no escaping a lengthy sentence in the Citadel, but perhaps if you give yourself in and turn over your accomplices you will be able to avoid life in solitary."

"Do you ever shut up? Holy hell, all you've done since we started is blab on and on about me paying for my crimes. It gets annoying after a while. Can we just fight with you not running your arrogant mouth, please?" Instead of a verbal response, Spitfire was assaulted by another wave of instantly grown plantlife, most of which he dodged or burnt with the dregs of his fire reserves. ' _Any time would be absolutely amazing morons. Running short of options here."_

"Do you even realize what you've done here today?" Overgrown demanded and Spitfire was shocked to see an actual emotion in those dull green eyes. The Number One Hero was _livid_. The golden-haired Villain smirked.

"It _burns_ you to have failed so badly doesn't it?" He mocked. When he saw the green-haired Hero stiffen, his grin only grew...and so did his confidence. "I've killed countless people and you haven't done a single thing about it. I'm quite shocked, to be honest, the Number One Hero simply standing by as dozens, if not hundreds, of lives are stolen while he had every opportunity to save them? The most renowned Hero in North America and he couldn't even get it done when the people he claims to protect needed him the most. I can see why you're angry. I mean, if I were in your shoes I'd burn the bastard responsible to ash but you...you just seem content with locking me up. Where's the justice in that? What's the saying? 'An eye for an eye'? By that logic shouldn't you be trying to put me in the ground?"

"That is not the way of a Hero," Overgrown said calmly, though Spitfire could tell it was through clenched teeth. ' _Okay...keep pissing him off, hope I don't die, and wait for him to get sloppy. Gotta play this smart if I wanna send our message without being sent to prison. Although...this is kind of a double-edged sword.'_

"The purpose of a Hero is to save people, right? Well, you obviously failed at that, quite miserably at that. Do you know what I say? 'If I can't save those important to me, you better be damned sure I'll avenge them'. Oh, but I guess that's not the way of a Hero, huh? Oh well. You wanna arrest me, Overgrown? I dare you to try!" Spitfire roared before releasing a wave of flames from his maw.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Fifteen Minutes Ago**

Leech scowled as he and Kaboom scaled the side of the Miller-Braun building with the custom-made grapple guns Sierra in R&D had given them. Below him, all he could hear was the sound of his companion's insane laughter and random bouts of equally deranged muttering. ' _Why do I always get stuck with the shit jobs?'_ Add his crazy partner to the fact that the planning for this job had left him without a wink of sleep the past two nights and he was admittedly a bit jumpy. It wasn't that he hadn't suffered from sleep deprivation before but unlike all those previous times he hadn't had a chance to use his Quirk to refill his energy. Finally having had enough he snapped at Kaboom. "SHUT UP YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

"Kaboom will make him go boom as well, yes~. I think so, he will go BOOM!" The orange-haired man began laughing so hard he nearly lost his grip on the rope he was using to climb. Leech just placed his face into one of his hands, the other still gripping the rope tightly, and let out a loud groan. A few more minutes passed before the two reached their destination, the fifth story. They had to go to this floor thanks to the Miller-Braun security system that was triggered when the threat level in the building was designated as 'High Danger' and included steel sheets dropping down and covering the windows of the first four stories, ergo they had to make their way to floor five. Leech peeked inside and saw that it was largely abandoned. ' _Most likely the sheep moved down to the second level when they heard the alahm trigga. Time to get this auva with I suppose.'_ He reached down to his belt and grabbed the small handgun, also supplied by Sierra, and unloaded the clip into the plexiglass, shattering it and showering the two in glass shards. The simple sound of gunshots seemed to excite Kaboom, who responded by whooping and leaning back, holding on to the rope by just his legs and the bottom of the rope which Leech had smartly tied around his waist, allowing the glass shards to rain down on him.

"Hey, moron get up here." Leech wasted no time in pulling himself through the broken window before lowering his hand to pull up his partner. The man grabbed him and was unceremoniously yanked up. The platinum-haired man barely paid the muttering man any attention as he observed the deserted room before him. ' _Stairs are a no-go. Those would've been the Boss' first target. Elevatah is the best way.'_ He sighed and walked over to one of the two doorways occupied by sliding metal doors. With a great bit of effort, he managed to yank one open and was dismayed to see three mirrored walls and eloquently upholstered floor of the elevator car. When he opened the second set of doors, he was even more dismayed to see the other car two floors down. ' _We'll have to go to the second floah to get access to the maintenance shaft. Great, what luck. Maybe Spitfire isn't so crazy talking about 'Fate' all the time,'_ Leech thought with a snicker. "Alright, here's the plan-"

"Plan is...BOOM! Yes?" Kaboom interrupted, making an explosion sound with his mouth. Leech facepalmed and groaned into his gloved hand, the leather cool on his face and a faint hissing-like sound emanating from it.

"I understand. No, Kaboom. We gotta get to the sella. These jackasses've got some great shit down there. It'll help us go boom lata, yeah? " After the past five months since he'd joined the Black Order and been assigned to Spitfire's personal guard, the Villain had gotten accustomed to Kaboom's eccentricities. The man's Quirk was _really_ sensational if put in the hands of someone who was not a _complete fucking maniac_.

"Yes~. Then we BOOM!" Leech just rolled his eyes and stalked over to the doorway. The third and fourth floors were relatively quiet, a few stragglers that rushed to get out of their way as the two Villains descended. As he made his way down, the platinum-haired man grimaced at the sounds of hundreds of people cramming themselves into the collapsed stairwell below. ' _Acting like caged animals. Have some goddamn dignity, you sheep.'_ Luckily, the doorway to get onto the second floor was clear. The cubicles and general feel of a desk job sent a wave of revulsion flooding through his body. He ignored the looks of terrified workers hiding beneath their desks and made his way to the elevator doors.

"Alright, Kaboom! Get auva here!" His partner continued to mutter madly, but complied and moved to stand beside Leech. The doors groaned in protest as they slid open but, as they reached the halfway point, they started becoming easier to open, like there was less resistance. For a moment, the sleep-deprived Villain was in shock...and so was the battered and bruised Hero on the door's other side. "Ah, Spitfire got sloppy and let aune live. How...annoying."

"What's going on?" Piston demanded. Leech, realizing the man missed his little slip-up, put on his best winning smile and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I'm so happy you've arrived, Hero. Just in time really, the people are starting to panic." Piston opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly he felt heavy. It was like someone had attached a ten-pound weight to each and every muscle in his body. The Punching Hero grunted and through the distant sounds of battle, heard a sound like ripping fabric. He pushed the green-eyed man away, who was smirking triumphantly and nearly gagged at the sight before him. The black leather glove which covered the Villain's hand, Piston knew for sure this man was a Villain now, was in tatters but that wasn't what shocked him. One each of the man's fingers and in the center of his palm was a mouth, full of fanged teeth and a forked tongue. Leech sighed in what appeared to be ecstasy and his platinum blond hair seemed to become fuller, his eyes brighter and a tiny bit more stable.

 **Spitfire's Squad: Leech**

 **His Quirk: Leech**

 **Using the leech-like mouths on his fingers and palms, Leech can sap the energy from his opponents, restoring his own energy as well as his sanity.**

"Ah, wonderful! It's been so long since I've been able to think straight. Three weeks auf no sleep will make you pretty crazy, eh?" Leech ripped his second glove off and turned his hungry eyes on Piston, who despite his injuries and sudden tiredness, got into a fighting stance, his fists held up in front of his face. The Villain scoffed at this. "Come aun. Don't be like that! JUST LET ME SUCK YOUR ENERGY DRY AND WE'LL ALL BE HAPPY!"

"Mach One Puncheroo!" Wasting no time, Piston thrust his fist through the thin wall of a cubicle as Leech dodged and attempted to palm-strike the man in his chest. The Hero leaped back and drove his foot into the Villain's chest as he hungrily pursued.

"LET ME DRAIN YOU! IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE FELT SANE! THEY SAY I SHOULD LET THEM EAT YOU WHOLE!" Piston glowered at his opponent and tried to work some of the stiffness out of his muscles.

"Cal Jordan. You're the serial killer known as Leech. Eight deaths and forty-two assaults have been attributed to you in the Boston area over the past three years. Those who survived told of feeling completely drained, as if they hadn't slept in days."

"You know me?" Leech asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

"I know every Villain classified as Rank-B or above. This is outside of your usual M.O. what's your stake in this attack?" Piston demanded, trying to buy himself time to recover. He reached into the small container strapped to the back of his belt, pulled out a small needle, and jabbed it into the back of his thigh. The adrenaline coursed through him as Leech took his bait.

"They told me to."

"Who did?" Leech grinned wickedly and held up his mouthed-hands, each one licking its lips in anticipation of its next meal, which only further set Piston's stomach on edge.

"They did. They were hungry. When they're hungry, they talk to me...usually in my sleep, which is why I attacked all those people. As long as I can drain the enagy from autha people, I don't need sleep and I won't heah their incessant whispers. But I've been lacking sleep fah...heh, I forget how long. Well, wheneva I go that long, they start to talk in my waking hours as well. If I kill you then...they'll stop." With that, Leech rushed him again. This time, however, Piston was prepared.

"Mach Three Puncheroo!" The springs in his arms sent his fist flying into Leech's chest with the force of a rocket. The Villain coughed up blood and flew backward, crashing through a cubicle and landing next to a terrified businessman. The blond coughed and glanced up into the scared man's eyes. Then, without hesitation, Leech latched both of his hands around his neck. Piston couldn't react quick enough. In seconds, the businessman's lifeless husk hunched over and there crouched a completely different person. Where his platinum blond hair had been wild and untamed it now neatly flowed down over his ears and touched his shoulders. His eyes were no longer hungry, but gleaming with satisfaction. His inhumanly pale complexion was still stark white, but no longer as ghastly as before. Leech stood to his feet, allowing Piston to get his first view of the man without the hunch he'd had, and took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice sounded more put together than he'd just been.

"Ah, I've missed this. Like waking from a refreshing nap downing a glass auf whiskey. It's got that same incredible burn right in the centa auf your chest, you know what I mean?" He turned to Kaboom, who'd been standing off to the side fiddling with the wires in a neighboring cubicle's computer. "Hey, you get moving. We got a schedule to keep, yeah?"

"Boom?"

"Nah, just head downstairs and await furtha instruction," the Villain said with a wave of his hand. Piston tried to get in the way of the man, but surprisingly Kaboom caught his fist. The crazy man's grip was like iron as he glanced over his shoulder at his superior, an excited look on his face.

"Can I boom him?" Piston struggled to get free but to no avail. He even tried punching the man in the face, which had no effect. The Hero couldn't punch too hard lest he sends himself flying with his enemy or, worse, yanks his arm out of its socket. Leech considered the two of them for just a moment and shrugged.

"Eh, if it'll keep you happy. Only his ahm though, leave me the rest." Piston renewed his attempts to get free as he saw the Villain's expression. Never before had he seen someone so happy to be able to blow something up. Over the next few seconds, the Hero would've rathered Leech drained his energy again. His arm, which was still clamped tightly in Kaboom's hands, burned like fire. Then...boom. Piston cried in pain and shock as his right arm, up to the elbow, shattered like glass.

"BOOOOOM!" While it wasn't a traditional explosion, Kaboom seemed happy enough watching the destruction he had created with his Quirk. For a moment, even Leech looked worried about what his cohort might do now that he had that bloodlust. Luckily, he only clapped his heavily burnt and scabbed hands before bounding off and leaping down the elevator shaft. Leech's grin grew and he walked over to kneel next to his opponent.

"Incredible isn't it? I'm sorta shocked he didn't just make it blow up. I guess he was in a festive mood, aunly a few months 'til Christmas afta all. Wanah know how he did it?" The Villain asked malevolently, that crazy, hungry look making its way back into his forest green eyes. Without waiting for an answer, Leech slung his arm over the man's shoulder and began to speak. "You see, his Quirk is called Chemical Manipulation. It's exactly as it sounds, let's him create and amplify compounds using the elements that make up a human body. He could be an amazing heala, scientist, aur something along those lines but no, he loves blowing shit up. I didn't know this, and I don't wanah know how he found auut, but the elements in your body can be used to make some pretty powerful bombs. Plus the bastard _eats_ gunpowda. Fuckin' lunatic."

"What do you people want?" Piston demanded. In truth, he was running low on options. Just the fact that Overgrown hadn't come after him yet was a sure sign the golden-haired Villain was giving him some trouble. He also didn't know how Maelstrom's mission was going and Dove was...dead. ' _These people aren't your normal run of the mill Villains. They're organized. They've been planning this for months. Why did Malcolm and I have to be on duty today? Gah, stow that shit, Nick. You gotta job to do, these people have no one else to protect them. You already failed with the lobby...Dove...that employee, the least you could do is stand and fight! Make sure everyone else makes it out of here alive!'_ Piston shrugged Leech's arm off his shoulder and got to his feet, raising his one remaining arm is defiance.

"What we want, is a bedda world. A world free auf false Heroes, is that so much to ask? Fah the people protecting you to actually protect you instead auf playing to the cameras. But as fah me...well, I'm just in it fah a chance to finally get a good night's sleep."

"You'd kill so many for such a ridiculous goal!?" Piston exclaimed, causing Leech to laugh. He dodged the Hero's punch and swept the man's legs out from under him.

"Tell me Hero, when someone goes to wah, kills a buncha people fah some...bullshit cause, and returns they're revered as a Hero, but when we do it fah similah reasons we get thrown in prison and called monsters, and that's if we're lucky. Heroes are nothing but hypocrites. Your sense auf justice is mired in the muck auf media. You're no bedda than us! You just have the people's blessing! You stand in the way auf change. How is mankind gonah improve if it ain't allowed to evolve? _We_ are that evolution. The Black Orda will bring about an age auf prosperity and true Heroes, those who wanah save people fah nothing in return. I'm sorry, but you ain't gonah be a part auf it." Piston roared and jabbed at the Villain, his fist moving in a blur. The blow connected and threw Leech back, but only seemed to make him angrier.

"That's the talk of a Villain, trying to cover his crimes with noble words. You call us hypocrites, but what people are you saving by committing mass murder?" Piston demanded as he slugged the wall next to Leech's head, giving the platinum-haired man an opening to grab the Hero by his neck. Piston grunted as his energy began to drain, his adrenaline already dangerously close to wearing off.

"Who the hell said I wanted to save people, eh? I don't give a damn about you pigs. You kill each autha in droves daily without auur help. Spitfire's in a similah boat, while Kaboom and Bardee are in it fah their auwn selfish needs. Eh, explosions and food respectively."

"Why are you telling me this?" Leech laughed hysterically as Piston's attempts at fighting back began to weaken. The Hero felt his eyes starting to sag, his functions starting to shut down.

"Oh, who the hell you gonah tell? My grandma? Tell ha I love ha while you're at it, 's been twenty aur so years since she got put in the ground and I'm feeling nostalgic." Piston's eyesight went blurry. He felt Leech's hands disappear from his neck and he slumped to the floor, so exhausted he had to remind himself constantly to breathe. As his eyes fluttered shut, the last thing he saw was Leech, standing over him with his hand held up to his ear, talking to someone Nick Merkley couldn't see.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Return to rendezvous. Those were Leech's new orders and he was _not_ happy about it. Right when things were starting to get good. He'd delivered Kaboom and could now hop into battle beside his commander. Instead, he was leaping down the elevator shaft that opened into the lobby, making sure to let his hand mouths gnaw their way through the elevator car's cables, which caused it to fall with a mighty boom, and then closed the door for good measure. ' _No one's getting outta there. Boss did a fantastic job barricading the stairway, so no need to worry about people from above or below at this point. All that's left is to...oh hello there.'_ Leech stopped as he nearly stepped on something half buried in a pile of plaster from a collapsed wall. It was a girl, with mousy brown hair and a stream of dried blood trickled from beneath her hairline. "Hm, Spitfire sounded pretty strained. Good chance we go to 'Plan B', so I guess it wouldn't be bad fah me to take ha along. And if we don't…well, I could always use a snack aun the trip home. Hey, you awake sweetheart, aur do I gotta carry you?"

"Ugh." Was her only reply. With a heavy sigh, Leech reached down and hefted the girl over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. As soon as he stepped out of the front door, he could tell the battle was long gone. Pretty much everything except the asphalt was scorched black. The acrid smell of smoke, sounds of distant battle, and the wail of sirens filled the air. Leech stared at what looked like black boulders before he realized they were actually the burnt-out remnants of firetrucks and ambulances. The carnage was truly a sight to behold. For three blocks surrounding the building, there was evidence that his Boss had fought with the Number One Hero. As sadistic as he normally was, even Leech had to look away the few times he came across those unlucky enough to get in the golden-haired devil's way. ' _Guess Fate is pretty busy today. Dealing auut death like candy.'_ Eventually, he saw his intended target, a large building with a man sitting on its roof, sipping leisurely on a cup of tea without a care in the world. ' _Be careful boss. One helluva stohm brewin' and I'd hate to lose you and have to transfa to Puppet aur, god forbid, Prophet.'_ Almost like he'd heard his subordinate's plea, the black flames billowing in the distance grew in intensity.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Hm, these Villains don't seem to all be in agreeance in terms of loyalties and ambitions. How in the world are they all working together without killing one another, eh? Well, I know, but I can't tell you, so HA!**

 **Ugh, remind me to update the character profile page when I'm not so friggin' tired or busy. Hope you all enjoyed and let's get right to the preview.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 14: The Message**


	15. Chapter 14: The Message

**Hey dudes and dudettes! Here is the next chapter and the climax of this arc. Just a few things first.**

 **-Again, thanks to Hiatus for Beta-ing this chapter, without his help there would be many more grammar mistakes and lines that make little sense.**

 **-Check out our Discord server if you haven't yet, it's pretty killer. The link is in my Profile.**

 **-Also stay tuned at the bottom of this chapter as I introduce something I want to do any time there is a big fight scene. Battle Facts!**

 **-And finally, I feel the need to tell you guys that submissions for Pro Heroes and Villains are still open, but now I've opened submissions for Upperclassmen at U.S.A.E.I. and also students for its accompanying Support Courses (which take place on a different campus but will start coming in to the story a few arcs from now).**

 **-For Villains I am now asking any submissions to pick between being a member of the Black Order, a Solo Villain, or Other, which gives me freedom to put them with another possible group of Villains. Each will have a large part in this story.**

 **That's it, hope you all enjoy. As always, if you have any questions comments or concerns feel free to let me know over whatever messaging thing you feel like.**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Overgrown watched as his opponent broke free from yet another one of his innovative organic prisons with a frown. In his opinion, this battle should have ended long ago. His opponent was injured so severely, he had actually begun to gain a bit of grudging respect for him. While his own wounds were mostly minor burns or cuts, he hadn't felt so exhausted in a fight since his days at the Forge. This man was his antithesis. He was loud when Overgrown was stoic. The Villain wore his emotions on his sleeve, while the Hero hid behind a wall of indifference. There had never been an enemy who'd made him lose control till Spitfire had turned the lobby of Miller-Braun into a crematorium. The two-man war had dragged on over several city blocks and caused untold amounts of property damage. In order to keep his emotions locked up, Overgrown tried to ignore the no doubt hundreds of casualties. Even now, after he'd taken the brunt of the Number One Hero's full power, the Villain clambered to his feet.

"BLACK DRAGON'S RAGE!" Spitfire bellowed as a column of black flames sprang forth from his mouth and swept through the street towards his opponent. Overgrown countered by sprouting an unnaturally thick flower stem to raise him out of the attack's path while Spitfire coughed, trying to recover. His throat felt like an animal was trying to escape through his windpipe. One with extremely long and sharp claws. ' _This fight's gone on too long. If I keep this up, I swear some damage's gonna be permanent. Even now I can tell my throat is gonna be sensitive for months. Dammit. At this rate-'_ Spitfire's words were cut off as the flower exploded and unleashed a flurry of razor-sharp flower petals, no larger than guitar picks, soaring towards him like a twister. He growled and, seeing it was too late to dodge, held his arms up in front of his face. The petals cut through his navy blue t-shirt, his leather jacket having been lost long ago, and made small incisions into his newly exposed skin. The cuts were comparable to paper cuts but with the sheer number of them, Spitfire felt as if he were being tossed into a blender. "Black Twister!"

"You must see that this is hopeless. Please give in and there will be no need for me to extinguish your flames permanently," Overgrown said nonchalantly, his tone making the statement seem more like Spitfire would be doing him a favor than the death threat it was. After the twister died down the Villain fell to his knees and sucked in air like he was suffocating. ' _Bastard may have a point. I… can't keep this up. I screwed up, wasted too much energy in the battle with those weaklings/opening battle.'_

"BARTY! GET THE HELL OUTTA THAT TREE AND GIVE ME A HAND OVER HERE!" Spitfire shouted at the top of his lungs, which didn't help his throat in the slightest. He coughed into his hand and when he pulled it away, his coppery skin was stained red.

"It's useless. No one has ever broken free of m-" The Villain grinned as, right on cue, there was a booming crack and one of the four fifty meter trees that imprisoned his teammate began to collapse.

"Fantastic timing as usual. Fate is still on my side," he mumbled, reaching a hand into the left pocket of his tattered jeans. While Overgrown was distracted by the falling tree cell, Spitfire got shakily to his feet and pulled out a small pill bottle, which had been cracked at some point during the battle. A memory flashed through his mind as he glared at it.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You sure this works, Switch? I don't wanna end up like the last guy," Spitfire inquired, studying the small purple tablet in his hands. ' _Such a small thing holds so much power, eh?'_ From across the pristine white laboratory, his subordinate grinned and clasped his hands together. In an instant, the tablet was replaced by a simple ballpoint pen. The golden-haired Villain scowled and tossed the utensil over his shoulder.

"You doubt my word, Master Spitfire? I'm hurt. Besides, the last specimen only experienced excruciating pain for several hours. You shall be fine," Switcheroo reassured.

"Ah yes, I do love excruciating pain." Spitfire grumbled and slid off the desk he was perched on. His gray eyes scanned the room with disgust. Hundreds of the scientist's experiments and inventions of horror littered the chemical resistant tables and shelves. The worst of the worst was the large vats lining one wall. Spitfire felt queasy just looking at the tanks. ' _So this is how a new world is built? The people here are no better than the false Heroes they claim to hate.'_ He brushed off his faded black pants and made his way over to the door, only for a voice to stop him.

"I must warn you. While I've worked out most of the kinks, there is still one major flaw. The more power you exert the longer you shall be incapacitated after the drug wears off. You cannot allow this to happen in combat or you will undoubtedly be killed or captured." Switch had the gall to sound like this was exactly what he hoped to happen. ' _Damn snake. You'd love that, wouldn't you? Go right back to serving the damned priest and get out of your babysitting assignment, asshole.'_

"Okay, got it. Excruciating pain and then I get captured and thrown in the Citadel. Fantastic," he said, shuddering at the thought of the jail. As he walked over and snagged a test tube, its contents a violent green color, away from Kaboom, who had been fiddling with varying chemicals with equally as varied levels of success, a thought occurred. He poured the green liquid into the chemical sink and frowned as it sizzled and melted the metal like a hot knife through butter. Spitfire shot the irritated chemist a look of disbelief before voicing his next question. "Alright, easy fix then. When I get weak I'll just pop another, or would that end in more excruciating pain?"

"It would increase the chance of death from overdose. If you were to survive it would lengthen the recovery time by double...maybe triple. You could be out of commission for months...and yes, there would be a great deal of pain," Switch replied thoughtfully.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

All of this flashed by in a heartbeat as Spitfire's stormy gray eyes examined the pill bottle, three small purple tablets rattling around inside it. ' _This...is a bad idea. I don't have much choice in the matter, do I? Though this way I can help out Barty. He's strong as an elephant but about as dumb as a sack of rocks. Brute strength isn't enough to beat this guy. He still thinks I'm weak. I'll wait until Barty gets here and distracts him then pop the pill.'_ Taking a deep breath, Spitfire straightened up and cracked his neck. While the Hero's attention was focused on the area where his four tree stockade had once stood, the Villain rushed him and slammed his fist into the other man's side. "Don't ignore me, Flower-Boy! You'll get burned!"

"Ugh," Overgrown grunted before turning and pressing a glowing seed into the fabric of Spitfire's chest. Before he could react, a vine wrapped around his body. It was thin, more so than the ones he'd seen the Hero use earlier, and covered with large green leaves and small, delectable black berries. Spitfire was about to gloat that Overgrown was also getting weak if this was all he had before he felt his body begin to tingle. Then the vine grew and wrapped around the Villain's face then when he opened his mouth to breathe fire, one of its berries fell down his throat. The effect was almost instantaneous.

"W-what?" Spitfire stuttered as he stumbled, overcome with sudden dizziness. His mouth felt dry, the sun burned his eyes, and for a moment he didn't know where he was. Overgrown sighed as he watched his opponent suffer.

"I do hate breaking out the poisonous ones. I apologize, but this battle _must_ end before any more lives are lost." Spitfire could barely hear him, there was a dull roar in his ears, and he had to lean against the burnt husk of a firetruck to keep himself upright.

"What di-did you d-do?" He managed to stammer out.

"What you are experiencing is an enhanced mutation of _Atropa Belladonna_ , or as it's more widely known… deadly nightshade." Overgrown's voice was grim and slightly sad, almost like he was disappointed in his opponent. Spitfire didn't seem to care as his body was beginning to convulse. He heard a voice, one he hadn't heard in nearly half a decade and whipped around, looking for its source.

"S-Sis?" He asked the air. His vision blurred for a moment, and then a girl was standing before him. She was beautiful with her long, auburn hair, bright brown eyes and a playful smile on her face. "Annabeth. Y-You...y-you're…"

"Dead?" She said helpfully. When Spitfire nodded feebly, she rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. Her strength never seemed to surprise him, it was like she punched with the force of a full-speed train, though that could have just been his tired and broken body being dramatic. She said something else but he didn't hear her. She still had that alluring grin of hers plastered amongst her perfect complexion, just a dash of freckles across her cheeks that Spitfire had always loved to count when he thought she wasn't looking, though she always was. Then her face turned pale, a small trickle of blood flowing over her high cheekbones like a meandering creek. Memories started to assault Spitfire, each hurting him far worse than any of Piston's punches. The playground. A small silver coin. A starry sky. And a man, covered in blood.

"MISTA SPITFIRE!" A baritone voice yelled, snapping the Villain out of his memories. He was still in incredible pain all over, but his gray eyes narrowed as he saw Barty storm onto the scene and nearly take Overgrown's head off, the Hero had been too preoccupied watching Spitfire. ' _Pill. Gotsa...take...pill,'_ he thought, raising the bottle over his mouth, his hand shaky, and dumping the remaining purple tablets out. Incredibly, one of the pills managed to land in his open mouth, the others clattered to the asphalt. He felt his mind sharpening ever so slightly, his throat stopped hurting so bad, and he was able to concentrate on the ever-present burning sensation in his chest once again, which quickly spread across his body like a wildfire in a field of dry grass.

"Redwood P-" Spitfire sprang into action just before Overgrown could trap his oversized friend again. A wreath of black flames curled around the Hero before collapsing in on him, though he dodged by jumping into the air once again. "Impressive. You somehow managed to flush out the poison with your flames I assume?"

"Piss off!" Spitfire growled, but really he was just angry the man could see his trick. The pill had revitalized him, given him the power to regain cognitive thought over the pull of the nightshade. The rest was simple, he just willed the fire to burn the poison from within his body. ' _Well, at least I didn't cook myself.'_ He thought morosely. His limbs still felt hot, every visible vein on his body burned black against his tanned skin. It was a gambit, especially in his delirious state. Just one small fluctuation in power and his entire body would have erupted in flames...which would not be good. Despite that, Spitfire felt his power returning to him. His weariness slowly started to fade, his muscles stopped burning, and, most importantly, the poison's effect disappeared as quickly as it came. "Now we're talking! Black Inferno!"

"'Ave this!" Barty said as he slugged Overgrown in the back, as he was preoccupied with the wave of inky-black flames. The Hero flew across the street and through the front window display of a boutique, grunting at the impact. The large Villain clapped excitedly. "We got 'im good, 'uh Mister Spitfire?"

"It ain't over yet Barty. That's not gonna be enough to take him down, so stay alert." Spitfire sighed and observed the carnage his battle with Overgrown had left behind. They were now six blocks away from the Miller-Braun building and every inch between them and their starting point was covered with ash, scorch marks, and massive plants. ' _Damn, they don't call him the 'Number One Hero' for no reason. He's smart, gave me the impression that I had the advantage when he was really just tiring me out. If it weren't for Switch's Supplements I'd have already been in custody and the plan would've failed._ '

"I must admit, you are stronger than the average Villains I face. This may have been the most stimulating battle of my long career, but I think it's time I stop fooling around. This area of the city has been already evacuated, so I needn't hold back," Overgrown said as he rose from the display and began to glow a violent green, almost as if his body had been pumped full of neon.

"FINALLY SOME REAL ACTION!" Spitfire cried, a manic grin overtaking his expression. The Villain released a cloud of night-black flames from his mouth, which then wrapped around his body like a blanket. Meanwhile, perhaps sensing the impending clash, his large companion ripped a pair of car doors from the vehicle's frame, brandishing them like shields, though he was so massive they barely covered his face and upper chest. Then all hell broke loose. "BLACK DEVIL'S BREATH!"

"FRENZIED OVERGROWTH!" All around the cluttered city streets, massive plants of all shapes and sizes rose from the dirt to meet a wave of fire that eclipsed everything Spitfire had previously shown. Right away, Overgrown noticed this fire was different. It not only burned through the weaker areas of his foliage but seemed to move with some sort of sentience. The fire twisted and turned around the stronger plants and targeted chinks in his attack's armor. ' _Impressive. His Quirk continues to surprise me.'_ However, as quickly as it began, the clash of ultimate moves ended. The flames sputtered and then petered out, leaving Spitfire wide-eyed and his mouth agape.

"Shit." Was all he got to say before an entire forest's worth of plantlife slammed into him. He didn't know up from down as wriggling vines and sweet smelling flowers entombed him. His arms and legs were swiftly bound together, a vine wrapped around his windpipe and immediately he started having trouble breathing. ' _No!'_ he thought as the heat began to collect in his throat. "LET ME OUT!" He roared, thrashing wildly while small black embers shot from his mouth. Luckily, it was just enough to sear through the cuff on his neck. There were sounds of battle just outside his spherical prison and he heard a muted, but unmistakable cockney accent bellowing. "Still need to work on that attack. Flames are too unruly to be fully effective… I should've known better." He observed his surroundings and frowned. He tried in vain to free his arms and legs, but the binds only tightened. "This… could be problematic. Much as I hate to say it, Fate seems to be pushing us towards 'Plan B'. Time to see if Switch's inventions are actually worth the money we spend on them. Oi, Kaboom? You hear me?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The three sublevels of the Miller-Braun building, which housed its extensive Research and Development Program, are a maze to navigate. They were designed this way to confuse intruders in the unlikely event the Pro Hero security wouldn't be enough to stop them. Due to the nature of the projects being worked on, namely every costume, weapon, and gadget for many of the top Heroes in North America, there were no direction markers in the identical black marble hallways, which were dimly lit by caged bulbs. Anyone who hadn't worked in these halls for years and years would be unable to find their way out even if they managed to make off with anything. Despite all of this, Kaboom strolled through the hallways with a sense of nostalgia. Halls he'd walked for ten years before he was sacked for 'sadistic and explosive tendencies'. "Oh? Yes! I remember. This room holds costume prototypes and gadget design. Ooo~ very interesting...but NO! Kaboom has a job to do yes~, then he will be rewarded by BOOM!"

"Who's there?" A masculine voice demanded. Kaboom glanced over his shoulder, his vicious grin never leaving his face. There stood a man with a severe look on his face, dressed in a white lab coat and holding a clipboard. "Who are you?"

"I am Kaboom, yes~. Ah! I remember you as well. Miles Lee, head scientist. Ooo~ how wonderful! I am here to...now, what was it? BOOM? No, not this time, no. OH! I know, I am here to...take the information from you, yes!" The scientist, Miles, stared at the man in bemusement.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm going to have to ask you to lea-" Miles was cut off as Kaboom lurched forwards and wrapped his long, bony fingers around the man's neck. The Villain smiled wider. "Wh-What are y-you doing?"

"Ah, don't fret little birdie. I mean you no, um...harm! That's the word!...I'm just here for the information you keep in your system's servers. Yes~ that reminds me I do have a need for you. The keycode! How could I be so silly? I need this," Kaboom said, slipping his finger around the man's identification badge that hung from the scientist's neck. Miles stayed silent, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and just a small bit of fear.

"Good luck. You'll never win, Villain." To Miles' shock, Kaboom just seemed more amused, his grip tightening around the man's esophagus.

"Ohoho, I remember quite clearly now. This place brings up old memories, yes~. Many good memories~." The Villain sounded wistful, glancing at the identical walls with a sense of familiarity. "Alright, time to go! Off to the servers, we go~!" He sang, leading the scientist deeper into the base at a very leisurely pace. The slick black walls masked how long the pair actually walked. Every once and a while they would pass a heavy iron door. At each one Kaboom stopped, examined it for a second before shaking his head and muttering 'No, no, wrong' or 'I don't remember this one'. Miles stayed silent, frozen in fear for most of the trip. In his mind, it felt like hours, but in reality, it was more like five minutes, until his captor stopped at a door, no different from the first dozen they passed and exclaimed happily. "Open sesame!"

"How?" Miles mumbled under his breath. There were thousands of copies of this door every few hundred yards and this random man had managed to find perhaps the most important...and dangerous room in the entire building. The Server Room. Kaboom dragged the man inside and laughed at the view that met them. Like bookshelves in a library, towers of servers occupied the majority of the room, narrow hallways separating each row and wires dangling from the ceiling in odd places. The center opening in the technological forest was wider and led to a massive terminal, with an even larger monitor on the wall above it.

"Time to work~!" Kaboom giggled like a schoolgirl and tossed Miles to the side like a child who saw a more exciting toy than the one he was currently playing with. The scientist's head slammed into one of these towers and stars blurred his vision. He was vaguely aware of one of his colleagues trying to get into the Villain's way. It must have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw his coworker clawing at his chest before falling to the ground. Kaboom hummed a merry tune as he typed away at the console and inserted a small black thumb drive into an open USB port. "Ah, how wonderful. This is incredible!" Miles' constant shock just appeared to get worse as the manic tone the Villain had spoken with the entirety of their time together started to slip into something more sophisticated. "I remember it well, yes. This particular database holds critical information on the Quirks and Costumes of every current and former Pro Hero who works with Miller-Braun, including seven of the current top ten."

"Stop. Please, don't do this. That information will get people killed!" Miles pleaded, getting to his feet and running to try and halt the man. He didn't even make it halfway before he tripped over the prone body of his coworker. Although upon taking a closer look, he realized the man's true state: His now glassy eyes stared up at him as a thick, white foam seeped from his open mouth. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead, immediately followed by an imminent fear of death.

"I increased the amount of water in his body. He drowned in his own watered down blood," Kaboom mentioned without turning his attention away from his work.

"Good lord..."

"America never learns. All those people...those fake Heroes you say will die, whose fault is that exactly? Miller-Braun has used underhand and deceitful tactics throughout its reign to rake in the high standing clientele and money it has today. I learned this when I was young, right out of the Forge and hungry for the opportunity to work with the best. Then I found out what was going on under the table and threatened to blow the whistle on them." Kaboom's voice darkened, any sign of his previous deranged attitude completely vanished. "You know what I found out? Miller-Braun was...playing both sides. Selling their costumes and tech to Heroes and Villains alike. They used these connections to frame me for the murder of one of my associates, who also wanted to expose them. I didn't want to be a Villain, but vengeance brings out the worst in men. Plague offered me the opportunity to claim revenge."

"Hey! Miles, you okay?" A new voice called. Just then a woman with blonde hair rushed into the room and stopped when she saw Kaboom, who must've looked like hell. His orange hair was thinner in some places, smoking in others. His wide eyes still held a hint of insanity and his clothes were covered in burn marks and soot.

"Mary, back away slowly and run," Miles cautioned under his breath, though not low enough.

"She can leave if she wants. It won't matter soon. The only exit out of here is blocked and my own method is a bit more complicated to explain. I am almost done. Once the data is transferred I will be out of your hair." Just then, the sound of another man's voice filled the room. It was distorted and emanated from the small silver earpiece lying on the console, Kaboom had removed it when he began his work.

" _Oi, Kaboom? You hear me?"_

"Yeah," the Villain replied, barely paying the device any heed. The man's next order, however, brought the manic roaring back to life in his voice.

" _Good. Everyone else, I'm assuming you're listening as well?"_ Switch's voice, oh how much Kaboom hated it, responded affirmatively and their leader continued. " _Initiate Operation Messenger. Kaboom, let Switch know when you_ ' _ **re**_ _ready and he'll get you outta there. Leech, call in the evac and then get down here to help out me and Barty. Be stealthy, got it?"_ Kaboom didn't need to hear the rest.

"Operation Messenger? Oh, yes~ this will be fun! Kaboom is done with these files, Switch can take them so, ah, I can begin!" The Villain ripped the flash drive out of its port and held it aloft. In a split second, the thumb drive disappeared and was now replaced by an empty teacup. Meanwhile, Kaboom couldn't stop shuddering in anticipation.

"What is Operation Messenger?" Miles demanded, surprised at how calm his voice sounded when on the inside he was horrified.

"Yes~, time to begin. For miles, under the city, these tunnels go, intersections, dead ends, and doorways galore! Perfect road to send a message, ah and a fully functional piping system. First, have to get to the chemistry lab, oh but I know the way...I know the way far too well. Come! Let us go, yes~!" Before either could react, Miles and Mary both felt one of the man's slimy pale hands grip them hard by the scruffs of their necks. He led them out of the room and down yet another corridor. The entire journey, Miles tried to whisper words of faith and encouragement to his colleague, but to no avail. Mary's eyes were wide and she wouldn't stop begging Kaboom to let them go.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to hear them...or just didn't care. Ten minutes later they sat back to back, tied to a pair of swivel chairs, the wheels smartly held in place by heavy boxes, in a room filled to the brim with chemicals, test tubes of colorful liquids, and the bodies of other employees. The Villain stood with his back to them, working at a table and looking right at home mixing chemicals and causing small explosions in the glass vials. He spoke quietly to himself as he toiled. "Hm, more nitrogen? No, this will do. How many bodies? Thirteen, four too damaged to use. That is a shame. I would enjoy a…oh well. This will be sufficient."

"Kaboom? That's what he called you, yes? Your boss?" Miles spouted, desperation clear in his voice. "Kaboom, please! Whatever you're doing, whatever you've done it doesn't matter! Now is the time for you to do the right thing! Please, think of the lives you'll affect! Hundreds of lives will be destroyed!"

"Viktor Pavelich."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"That was my name. I worked beneath you Miles. You were one of the good ones, wary of your superiors but you kept your head down and stuck to your work. I couldn't have done that, it was just too wrong what they made us do." For a moment, the crazy man before him melted away and an image of a young man with a bright smile flashed through his mind. That boy and this man were so completely different, but Miles knew by their looks that they were one and the same.

"Y-You were a good kid! Finished top of your year at the Forge's Support Branch! I remember! Please Viktor, I know that good kid I used to know is still inside somewhere!" Kaboom scowled and turned back to his work.

"I pity you, Miles. That's why I told you my name. Don't think for even a second that I am that same naive boy. I am Kaboom, and I'm going to kill you. Spend these last moments making your final peace." Kaboom grinned evilly as he held up a large tube of sapphire liquid that seemed to sizzle in its glass container.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, DIE!" Spitfire bellowed and blew another breath of midnight black flames at the Hero, who seemed to be showing exhaustion for the first time in the battle. Having to face flames capable of melting steel as well as a man with the brute strength of an elephant would have taken its toll on even the more resilient of men. ' _Where's Crusader when you need him?'_ Overgrown thought morosely as he dodged the flames and slid through Barty's legs, something he really didn't enjoy. When he got to his feet he threw a handful of sunflower seeds at the oaf, but the large man just caught them in his mouth and wolfed them down. Spitfire saw the shock on his opponent's face and laughed. "Ain't gonna work. This big guy can eat anything. The more he eats the stronger and stupider he gets and he is always hungry."

' **Barty'**

 **His Quirk: Gluttony**

 **Barty is constantly plagued by ravaging hunger that can never be satisfied. His body takes everything he eats and converts it to energy and muscle mass as quickly as he can ingest it, however, this process greatly diminishes his cognitive capabilities.**

"Can I 'ave some more, Mister 'ero?" He asked, and Overgrown now understood that incessant hungry look in the big guy's beady black eyes. The pity he felt for the Villain was brief. Who could feel bad for someone who punched a hole through the side of a tanker truck while aiming for your head? The tank exploded and threw all three combatants to the ground. Spitfire was the first to recover and he sent another wave of fire at his enemy, seemingly unphased that his partner was standing right behind the target. Overgrown moved out of the way and the flames connected with Barty's broad chest, dissipating immediately.

"Damn," the Hero muttered, holding a hand to the gash on his side that he'd received when Barty decided a stop sign would make a good weapon. Fatigue was starting to settle in his very bones. This was by far the toughest challenge he'd ever faced, but his job was nearly complete. ' _The city has largely been evacuated. How are my reinforcements still not here? Something must've held them up. This isn't good, I'm tiring quicker than they are. Whenever the leader needs a break he just lets his sasquatch friend take over. If I don't get help soon, I'm done for.'_

"You just don't know when to give up, do you? The tables have turned old man and Fate is now on OUR side!" Spitfire boasted, a confident grin on his face as he glared at the Hero, who stood straight up and gathered more seeds from his utility belt.

"I can do this all day," Overgrown said and threw the seeds onto the ground. The seeds quickly took root and grew three massive venus flytraps, which lurched forward and snapped at Spitfire, who was just an instant too slow. His arm was engulfed by one of the plants. He cried out in pain and shock, releasing a blast of fire that freed his limb. The arm wasn't bloody, but it bent at an odd angle halfway between the wrist and elbow.

"I… I probably had that... coming..." Spitfire growled through gritted teeth. Overgrown took advantage of that momentary hesitation as the Villain glared at his injury to strike. As he was dealing with his own two flytraps, Barty couldn't help his boss. He didn't even see Overgrown rush him. Spitfire looked up at the last moment and gray met green, hatred shining in these two pairs of eyes. Then, a fist connected with the Hero, throwing him off course and careening into a burnt out husk that was once a food truck. There stood Leech, all thirteen of his mouths baring fanged teeth.

"You gotta keep your head up, Boss. I ain't always gonah be around to save you."

"Another one?" Overgrown mumbled, studying this newcomer.

"You're looking better, have a nice snack?" Spitfire asked. Leech laughed and gave his leader a thumbs-up.

"Some wannabe with springy arms. Wasn't much auf a challenge afta Kaboom, ah...relieved him auf his spring," the man replied with a shrug. Their conversation was halted as the Number One Hero removed himself from the ruined truck and stood on shaky feet. "Ah, he still wants to g-" A low rumble cut him off. The rumble grew into a tremor, then to an earthquake and finally...the streets of Yonkers, New York descended into madness.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Nina fought to regain consiousness. Her head felt like someone was trying to dig their way out with an overly sharp pickaxe. Even opening her eyes was a challenge, but when she did all sense of hesitancy vanished. She shot into a sitting position and promptly squeaked in pain, falling backward but before her head could further injure itself by slamming into the ground, a soft pair of hands caught her. Her eyelids fluttered and struggled to keep her vision clear. A face appeared in her vision, smiling kindly down at her. "Hello, Nina. My name is Switch, a paramedic. You took a nasty blow to the head and it needs to be fixed immediately. It is good that you have awoken. My Quirk can heal you, but it needs permission to do so. People are much more complicated." While he said this last part under his breath, Nina heard him and frowned.

"Complicated?" She hated how her voice sounded. It was weak and hoarse like every word threatened to rip her throat apart.

"Never you mind. Quickly now, you must say 'I grant you, Leopold Barringster, permission to use your Quirk on me'. Exactly that." While confused, Nina recited the line back, though she stumbled over her words at a few parts, and Switch grinned, placing a finger on her forehead and tracing a small cross. "Wonderful. Kaboom, you are cleared to proceed."

"W-Who is-" Nina began but stopped as Switch interlocked his fingers and suddenly, her mind slipped away. She felt...different. Her pain was gone, but something was wrong. Her body felt weird, almost like she'd entered someone else's. She looked around and saw a room full of pipes and gauges, all of which had needles pointing in the red triangle that made up the last quarter of each display, as well as around half a dozen people looking at her with wide eyes. "What?" She demanded, but her voice sounded different, deeper. She started to hyperventilate and glanced down at herself, nearly fainting at what she saw. "O-OVERGROWN!?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Meanwhile, Switch chuckled as the girl's body slumped back to the roof and her question was lost. He walked back over to the side of the roof and stared at the building in the distance. Beside him, still sipping her tea, Miss Vesuvius hummed appreciatively. "Very useful Quirk you have. Though, I have a hard time imagining that you really need permission from your victims."

"Well, you would be incorrect. My Quirk is very complicated. As you know it allows me to 'Switch' any two objects within a half-mile radius. Inanimate objects are simple, as they offer no resistance. As long as the pair of objects are around the same weight and size, or roughly within a certain percentage of one another, I can easily 'Switch' them. I believe it is called the theory of Equivalent Exchange, are you familiar with it?"

"Somewhat. Enough to know what you're talking about," Vesuvius replied flippantly, signaling to Switch that she really didn't know the specifics.

"Anyway, a person is far more complex than a cup of tea or a bar of gold. Even the slightest resistance or miscalculation would be...disastrous. By tricking them into allowing me to use my Quirk on them, it largely removes that variable. So, no I don't _need_ their permission per se. It just makes the process move along more efficiently. Now, the fireworks are about to start. Shall we?" Immediately after he said this, the rooftop beneath them began to shake, increasing in intensity as time went on. All across the city, car alarms blared to life and windows shattered, showering glass on the empty streets below. The tea in Vesuvius' cup sloshed out and she set it down with a look of disdain as it stained her dress.

Switch stood at the edge of the building as all sound in the city of Yonkers seemed to fade away. Time slowed as a wicked grin spread across his lips. The Miller-Braun building was engulfed in a massive mushroom cloud that touched the clouds. The streets leading out from the cloud followed as pipes erupted into fireballs. Switch held his hands aloft as if speaking to God himself. "Our message to the world. The Black Order is _here_."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Alright, the Black Order is finally revealed to the world, I wonder what the repercussions of such an act will be? What'd you guys think? Anyway, let's get on to the good stuff.**

 **So Battle Facts will basically be an explanation of something that happens during a battle I feel I couldn't explain well enough without it feeling too much like a lecture, or it could be for something that might seem a bit confusing. Tell me what you guys think about this because I'd like to continue to do it when a big fight happens.**

 **BATTLE FACTS: Ultimate Moves**

 **Black Devil's Breath**

 _Spitfire's ultimate move is quite interesting, but not yet perfected. Just recently he began working on the specifics of it and this is actually the first time he uses it in a battle. While I can't reveal everything about how it works, I can say that his flames in this move are semi-sentient and follow Spitfire's commands in an odd sort of way. Kinda like Lyon's Pyrokinesis, but less refined. More like trying to teach your dog a new trick._

 **Frenzied Overgrowth**

 _This is actually a move I've had in mind longer than Overgrown has been a character. Basically, Overgrown can control the life and growth of different plant life. This is a finishing move as unless he preps the battlefield beforehand, it would be suicidal to pull off. During a prolonged battle, he scatters seeds all around his arena and when the time comes he forces all these left behind seeds to grow all at once. He has a fifty-meter radius in which he can do this, so staying in one general place is better. He could also use it on the hundreds of seeds he has at his waist with...uh bad results._

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **Chapter 15: Aftermath**


	16. Chapter 15: Aftermath

**Heyo! What's good dudes and dudettes, how're your weeks going? Before we start this week's chapter I gotta say. CAPTAIN MARVEL WAS AWESOME! My quick, no-spoiler review: It was funny, action-packed, and Brie Larson (No relation to Nathan) was great in her debut. Ben Mendelsohn was awesome as well as Talos and Samuel L. Jackson was incredible as always.**

 **Anyway, let's get into it. First, thanks to Hiatus for Beta-ing again. This dude has made the past few chapters a lot less sucky with his changes.**

 **Next, I know I haven't been updating the character sheet, but I've gotta ask you to have a bit more patience with me. Jerks at my work have decided to triple my daily workload and it's taking up all the time I used to slack off and do housekeeping with this story at work. I don't get home 'til six (Work is an hour away) and still have to eat, shower, and plan/write the actual chapter for this week. When work calms down a bit I promise to update it, but until then the character page is basically ten chapters behind. Sorry about that dudes.**

 **The same goes for the Pokemon story I wanted to start. I've made some headway in the planning department, but haven't yet put pen to paper. I really wanna focus on this story at the moment, so sorry about that as well.**

 **As for this story, I've finished planning and...dammit this is gonna take forever. I gave you guys the Arc list several chapters ago (it's since gone out of date) and figured I should give you the full breakdown of Phase 1 for the Purpose of a Hero extended universe.**

 **PoaH: Rise of the Black Order (Main Story Part 1)**

 **PoaH: Teardrop (Side Story)**

 **PoaH: Vesuvius (Side Story)**

 **PoaH: Legacy of Tears (Main Story Part 2)**

 **PoaH: Plague (Side Story)**

 **PoaH: Aces High (Side Story)**

 **PoaH: Journey into Darkness (Finale of Phase 1)**

 **I know that's a lot to take in, but it's even worse when I tell you that there are 3 planned Phases I want to do. Now, I could just tell the main story and say screw the side stories, but I want this to be a whole universe centered around Melody and friends' adventures. I like to think of the Main Story as the first 3 Avengers movies. In Part 1 the main characters are still getting used to one another and always behind their foe. Part 2, they are still struggling to be a team most of the time, their problems are bigger, but they are starting to realize what their role in the world is. Part 3 is Infinity War. Every story up until this point pales in comparison as the Final Battle begins. The side stories are more like Ant-Man, Spiderman: Homecoming, and Captain Marvel. They are for the characters that weren't in the Avengers movies to start off with, but are integral to the plot moving forwards.**

 **Okay, that was...quite a bit to swallow. No more preamble, let's get into the chapter! I hope you all enjoy and as always, if you have any concerns let me know over any communications medium you'd like.**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

Overgrown stared at the destruction around him in horror. Entire city blocks went up in flames as the intricate piping system beneath them spat explosive fireballs into the air. Smoke turned the early afternoon sky into a midnight black. Even his enemies stood and gawked in awe at the scene. For just a moment, their quarrel was forgotten and the four men all paid witness to the absolute calamity of a city that was now engulfed in flames. "Kaboom, you overdid it big time..." Spitfire muttered. Then there was another roar, a guttural, animalistic cry of rage. Massive brownish-green vines as thick as a school bus slammed into Leech and Barty, sending them flying back. Overgrown surged forward and tackled Spitfire to the ground, which felt hot on his exposed skin.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" The Hero bellowed, anger, fear, and bewilderment present in his tone. Spitfire had the gall to smile up at him, which earned a punch to his jaw that made him see double. His hand shot up grabbing the collar of Overgrown's costume, yanking him down so that the two were practically nose to nose.

"It _burns_ , doesn't it? That overwhelming feeling of failure and uselessness," he growled, his voice venomous. The Hero noticed at the last second the black fire gathering behind his enemy's sneer and launched himself into the air to avoid the plume of hell flames. "How's it feel to be dropped to _our_ level, Hero?"

"Be silent," Overgrown demanded, his normally stoic voice trembling with fury. He drew a handful of seeds out of a pouch and tossed them, glowing a bright green, through the air. They sprouted into the largest pumpkins Spitfire had ever seen, nearly as large as an SUV. Four of them fell towards the ground below, but they never made it as they were consumed by fire.

"That' all you got!?" Spitfire taunted and launched a ray of inky flames towards the Hero, who merely dodged, landing on his feet with a good ten meters between him and his opponent. "You just keep on fighting, eh? What? You think you're gonna avenge these people? Make it so they didn't die in vain? I'm flattered you think me and my team are worth so much."

"Frenzied Overgrowth!" The Hero screamed, slamming his palms onto the cracked asphalt. As it had been earlier, the earth beneath their feet was split apart by the growth of hundreds of plants.

"Black Inferno!" Spitfire countered. Unlike before, however, these flames only managed to burn through the first wave, leaving him open long enough for the second to hit the golden-haired Villain with the force of a bullet train. He grunted as his back slammed into a solid brick wall and then...Overgrown was there, throwing him to the ground and straddling him. The Hero pulled back his fist and shouted in fury, slamming blow after blow into Spitfire's arms, which he'd crossed over his face in a weak defense. Each of his next words was accompanied by another blow. "That's...not very...heroic."

"SHUT UP!" The Hero reared back his fist but felt something latch on and almost instantaneously his remaining energy and anger dissipated. He felt beyond tired, almost as if his remaining strength had fled from him, and he fell to the asphalt beside Spitfire with a thud. Over him stood Leech, a grim look on his face.

"That's enough auf that." For a moment, Overgrown thought that this was where he would die. Leech certainly looked up to the task, excited about it even as he reached down with his mouthed-hand. However, a hoarse voice stopped him.

"Leech." The subordinate and his superior appeared to share a silent conversation, after which Leech retracted his arm and sighed. Spitfire, now kneeling over the Hero, frowned. "The worst part about surviving an ordeal like this isn't that you watched your friends and innocents die...it's that _you_ didn't, right Hero? I'm gonna let you live to tell the world what you've seen here today. The Black Order has made its first move, how will all of you fake Heroes answer? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested to see how you manage to regain the public's favor after such a pitiful display."

"Boss, looks like our ride is here." Spitfire then noticed a sound that could be heard over the chaos around them. Helicopter blades slicing the air. It took a moment for the vehicle to appear in the sky; it was sleek black and had an odd symbol emblazoned on its hull. The red outline of a lotus flower surrounded by a pair of laurel wreaths. The chopper set down in an empty lot fifty yards away, the site where a laundromat had stood not twenty minutes previous. Its sliding door creaked open, and a man with ghastly pale skin and a rather frail-looking body stepped out and made his way over to them, completely ignoring the apocalyptic surroundings. Leech and Spitfire immediately straightened up, though the latter looked somewhat annoyed to do so. Overgrown battled against fatigue in order to stay conscious and catch whatever piece of information he could from the villain's conversation.

"Master Plague, what brings you here?" Spitfire asked, staring at the man's back in disdain as he walked right by and smirked down at Overgrown.

"What do we have here? Spitfire, you've outdone yourself." His voice rattled like what Overgrown imagined a ghost's attempts at speaking would sound like. "This was the Operation Messenger that you were so secretive about?"

"You told me it was gonna be some low-rankers that would easily be disposed of," Spitfire snarled, ignoring the question. "Do you know how many times I almost lost fighting this guy? The only reason I'm alive and free is because Fate wants me alive. What the hell was your gameplan? What if I'd lost, huh? You'd be down another General!" Plague grinned at his fellow Villain's words nodded.

"I needed you to see just what you are capable of, win or lose I'd have been equally as happy with the result. Now, this is no place to talk. My diversion won't keep non-local Heroes away for long and those inside the city have all been...dealt with by Prophet's squad. I bid you farewell for now, Overgrown, but do not be mistaken. This is not the last time we shall meet." And with that, the leader of the Black Order retreated to the awaiting Helicopter, with Leech hot on his heels. Spitfire gave the downed Hero one last spiteful look before stepping into the chopper and sliding the door closed with a thud.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Experts estimate the death toll in Yonkers will be anywhere from nine to fifteen hundred, making this the most devastating Villain attack since 2307's Battle of Las Vegas. The number of injured is still rising as more and more people are pulled from the rubble. Still very little information on the mysterious sickness that has already claimed the lives of seventy-five people and infected over two hundred more in the areas surrounding Yonkers, nor the explosion that rocked Jubilee Hero Agency in Scarsdale. What we do know is that a group of Villains known by the name 'Black Order' is believed to be responsible. Up until recently, reports have had the organization designated as a Level Two, but have now been moved to Level Five. If you have any information regarding these Villains, please contact our hotline. This has been Diane Simonds of News Six, we'll see you again at Eleven."_ The silence hung over the room like a thick blanket. The day had been going just fine for the ladies of the U.S.A.E.I. girl's dormitory, until the news report had started. For the last hour and a half, they'd watched, entranced, as several news helicopters had circled around the city, trying to get a clear shot of the mayhem down below through the smoke and flames.

One girl in particular had stared at the screen in ever increasing horror as she came to a startling realization. ' _No...it can't be!'_ The view of the battle shook violently as the News Six chopper had to bank hard to the left to avoid a blast of black fire...very familiar black fire. It wasn't until the camera zoomed in and caught its first glance of the two combatants that she knew for sure. A chill went down her spine as she muttered a name underneath her breath, hating that she was so certain of it. "A-Akako?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Kaboom groaned loudly as he came to his senses. The first thing he noticed was how sore he was, almost as if he'd been thrown through a wall or hit by a car. Then he recognized a sound, although he didn't hear it very often. The whir of helicopter blades. By the time his senses fully recovered however, he noticed there was something heavy on top of his chest. His eyes slowly slipped open and what he saw caused him to scream in anger. "SWITCH! WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE, YOU BASTARD!?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down there sunshine." He glanced off to his right and saw Leech holding up his hands in surrender, his eyes storming with an emotion Kaboom couldn't identify. The mouth-handed man was slightly put off by the lack of his teammate's insanity and indiscernible babble.

"Calm down!? LOOK AT ME!" He roared, gesturing down to 'his' body. Leech's gaze flicked down but then he scowled and looked away.

"Rather not. Very disturbing hearing such a pretty girl talking like you. Thank God you didn't keep your voice. I-oh what the hell!? Keep it PG!" The Villain cried, quickly averting his eyes as Kaboom examined his new body.

"S-Shut it," a weak voice said from a cot nearly identical to Kaboom's on the other side of the helicopter's cabin. On it lied their leader, though it took Kaboom several moments to reach this conclusion. The General of the South Wind looked more like a corpse than a man who'd just taken on the country's Number One Hero and won. His golden hair had lost its sheen and spread over the man's sweaty face like a wet mop. The man's grey eyes had definitely lost their light, but the warning in them was clear. " _Shut up and let me rest, o-or I'll turn you to ash then dump you out over Manhattan."_

"You feeling aukay there, boss?" Leech inquired, reaching over to feel the man's forehead. His hand was batted away with a scowl overtaking Spitfire's face. He closed his eyes and his breathing became steadier. The silence stretched so long the New Yorker had begun to believe his superior had drifted to sleep. When he did speak, his voice sounded weak, not holding the arrogant undertones it normally did.

"...where'd Plague go?" Leech frowned and glanced towards the cockpit, where a solitary man sat in the pilot's seat, steering them away from the smoldering ruins of Yonkers.

"He got auff when we picked up Kaboom, this was afta you passed auut. Said he had something to discuss with Vesuvius and Switch. I wouldn't worry much, he seemed...happy aur as close to it as someone like him could get." Spitfire went silent at this, his gray eyes boring holes in the gunmetal gray roof.

"How far out?" He asked weakly. Leech relayed his message to the pilot who took a moment to respond.

"Thirty minutes until we get to the rendezvous and send y'all back to base."

"So...w-why's Kaboom a chick?" Leech could've sworn he saw the ghost of a smile on his boss' lips, but could only wince as Kaboom restarted his momentarily forgotten grievance. "Maelstrom. That's...or that was her name. Sidekick to Overgrown, the only one he's taken during his ten years at the top."

"Found her in the lobby after dropping him off. Had a huge bump on her head and looked like she'd been sent through a wall." Spitfire contemplated this for a moment before humming derisively.

"Her Quirk has something to do with water and it was fairly strong. Managed to counter some of my weaker attacks. This is going to burn him up," the Villain began to laugh. It started as a dry chuckle, indicating just how much his throat had suffered, and slowly grew into loud, rattling laughs that echoed off of the cold metal walls.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

While the helicopter carrying three now wanted criminals arrived at a discrete helipad at an old military training ground, a group of twelve men and women met in a room with highly tinted windows at the top of a building in the middle of Manhattan Island. Each was rather old, the youngest aged forty-five, and showed expressions that were no strangers to stress. At the head of the table, an African American woman stood and clapped her hands. "Sorry for calling this meeting so suddenly, but with the situation in Yonkers I figured we could move the bi-monthly meeting up a week."

"This...situation has come at the worst possible time," Moshe Schaeffer, a man with sand-colored hair and wizened blue eyes, said, his tone grave. There was a rumble of agreement from around the rectangular table.

"With the loss of All-Might, we all knew something like this would happen eventually. However, I never thought our own top Hero would be the one who would fail so spectacularly," a grim-looking woman named Randi Riggins stated, her beady yellow eyes glaring at the video feed of Yonkers at the end of the table. The innumerable amount of smoke trails rising above the city made it look like a stereotypical cityscape in a disaster movie.

"Well, to be fair it seems that we cannot be completely blameless. Just two days ago, Councillor Patel pulled many of the Heroes stationed in Yonkers away to help hunt down a human trafficking ring in Greenburgh," added Elliot Copley, who was the only one in the room that appeared to be in a good mood. He laid his chin on interwoven fingers, his sea-green eyes shining in silent challenge as a man, Dino Patel, shot to his feet, face red with anger.

"You dare accuse me of being responsible for this travesty!?"

"Of course not, I was merely pointing out an irregularity in the city's security. Though, I'm not quite sure how this could have been avoided even with several more Heroes present. The Villains appeared to have a solid strategy in place, had it not been for Overgrown buying time there would have been countless more fatalities."

"You clearly have something you want to say, Councillor Copley. Out with it!" A stern looking woman, Benita Dailey, demanded, glaring at her fellow councilman impatiently. Copley smirked and slid a large packet of paper, which had been sitting in front of him for the whole meeting at this point, into the center of the table.

"The Charlestown Act. I believe this incident could have been avoided if my strategy was put into place months or, preferably, years ago. We were exceptionally lucky that the Number One Hero just happened to be in Yonkers for repairs to his equipment. However, what if this were to happen in say, Moosejaw? Galena? Walla Walla? Need I go on?" Another councillor, a pale-faced man named Danilo Meadows, chose this moment to speak up.

"Your proposal has been shut down ten times in the past four years if I'm not mistaken. While this speaks to your tenacity, the logistics of-"

"I agree with Councillor Copley." The voice came from the youngest member of the council, Nelia Derrick. Her blonde hair jiggled as she nodded her head vigorously. "It might take some effort, but I think this could be for the best. A Hero's job is to protect all people, not just those in the big cities. It's so rare for today's Heroes to think of the little guys. My hometown has a population of eight hundred and hasn't had the presence of a Hero in nearly four decades. It's a proven statistic that small towns are usually chosen as ideal places for evildoers to make their hideouts thanks to the lack of Hero influence. The Charlestown Act will help put an end to all sort of crimes. Drug and human trafficking, larceny, exploitation. The list goes on. I call for a vote to immediately enact the Charlestown Act."

The room was silent. An uneasiness swept over the twelve councillors as they all turned their gaze on the leader. Reyna Grenier sighed to herself and held out her hand. The packet was slid down the table, though the only movement in the room came from Councillor Copley's hand waving nonchalantly. It stopped at the edge of the mahogany table and she glared down at the navy blue text.

 _North American Hero Registration and Directory_

 _Proposal #4827_

" _Charlestown Act"_

 _Submitted by Elliot Jack Copley_

 _08-25-2317_

"You cannot be seriously considering this! Our Heroes have stretched so thin already, working overtime to deal with the rising crime rates since the Hero Killer event in Japan. This will stretch our ranks too thin, what if something happens and the stationed Heroes cannot handle a threat!?" Vincenza Moon bellowed, slamming a fist on the table. Unphased, Copley simply smiled and raised his hand. To the shock of no one, the packet levitated out of Grenier's hands, its pages turning rapidly with each movement of the man's index finger. Once he reached a certain page, the movements of Copley's finger stopped.

"Article Seven, something I simply call; the Elite Guard. A specialized task force appointed by this council that will remain in strategic cities around the continent, ready to mobilize at a moment's notice. Boston for the east, Chicago the central, Los Angeles for the west. Of course, these are up for debate if you feel another city would work better." Councillor Moon, though very red in the face, shut up and slumped back in his seat. Taking this as her cue to move on, Grenier cleared her throat to get the attention of the room.

"Two councillors have moved for a vote, so let's get this over with. All those in favor of enacting the Charlestown Act raise your hand, Copley since you pushed the motion _and_ are my lieutenant you don't get a vote," she ordered, her eyes daring anyone to talk out of line. After a moment, hands began to raise.

Just four hands rose and Copley's grin fell. He exhaled through his nose and levitated the packet back to him before storing it in his brown messenger bag. "Yes, I expected as much."

"The motion fails," Grenier announced. The meeting continued for forty-five more minutes, but Copley couldn't find it in himself to care. A response to the Yonkers incident was written, a press conference called, and an odd plan was put forward. It was the only part of the meeting Copley paid any attention to after his vote.

"You want them to what?" Vincenza growled, glaring daggers across the table at Artie Mello.

"It would be a good experience for them to see the world they are stepping in to. Plus our own men have already begun clearing out the bodies. They won't have to deal with that, not yet," Mello replied calmly.

"They're children!"

"Who will one day face the horrors of our world in full force. It's their second week, so it's not too late for them to choose to back out and go to a regular school. Besides, do you really want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on cleanup? This is both cost-efficient and a good learning experience." To Copley's annoyance, Mello's plan went to a vote and, despite his misgivings, Prophet voted in favor of using the students of U.S.A.E.I. for clean-up of the Yonkers disaster zone.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

After the meeting, Copley found a deserted office and pulled out a small metal circle, which beeped incessantly. He pressed his finger into the top of the device, making sure the door was locked and the security cameras were offline, and a holographic face appeared before him, bathing the room in blue light. "Prophet, I heard you were called in? How did the meeting unfold?"

"Master Plague, I apologize. Yet again I was unable to get your act to pass. It seems the voices for my proposal are much weaker than those against it." To Prophet's surprise, Plague laughed, a horrible wheezing sound, not entirely unlike the noise a bag of air makes when stepped on.

"You worry too much. Today is a good day, I never imagined Spitfire would pull something like this. He exceeded my expectations." Prophet sneered at this and shook his head begrudgingly.

"I admit, his plan worked better than my own would have. He was correct when he said that to use his entire task force would be a waste." The words felt like acid in his mouth. Prophet despised the golden-haired general. Ever since the miscreant had joined he'd done nothing but rebel against Master Plague's ways, go against their usual procedures. An emotion the old man had not felt in many years raged in his gut. Jealousy. He hated the fact that the newest member of Plague's inner circle had been the one to introduce his Master's organization to the world, and in a manner Prophet would never have thought of.

"I still don't trust him, but then again I don't trust any of you fully. He is the only one who has gone against his role as my pawn, it's what made me promote him in the first place."

"Master?" Prophet was confused at his leader's sudden rant, not to mention a little miffed at the thought that his devotion to the cause was still not enough to gain the Master's trust.

"He has the drive, power, intelligence, and lust for revenge to become a Villain more influential than even he knows. I expect you to keep an eye on him, dig up whatever you can from his past."

"He is insolent. His loyalties lie with himself," Prophet muttered bitterly.

"Not entirely true. He has shown he is not only capable of leading but has a certain level of camaraderie with his men. Even Vesuvius made the long trip out to see him at work and was impressed. He is not to be trusted, but nor is he just my puppet like Vesuvius or Puppeteer. A maverick like him will make a good ally, and a dangerous one. Now, I must be going. Keep your normal tabs on the Council and report back to me with any advancements."

"I will not fail you, my Master." Just then, there was a knock at the door causing Prophet's malevolent expression to turn back into the uninterested and amused one of Councillor Copley. The door swung open, creaking on its hinges, and in walked Reyna, her face as impassive as every time Copley had seen it in over ten years of working together. Despite her standing as the most powerful woman in the Hero world, he'd come to begrudgingly respect her and greeted her as such. "Head Councillor."

"Councillor Copley, you left rather quickly. We still have to go over the minutes and plan for our next meeting. I expect we will have to move it and all following meetings up a week to account for today." Her voice was professional and held an air of authority. Her fellow councillor put on his best poker face and hummed thoughtfully.

"Yes, though we may have to strongarm Vincenza a wee bit. That man is as stubborn as a mule." The woman's lips twitched slightly, showing just the briefest moment of emotion before the mask resettled.

"Come on, we've got work to do before we get to go home. How are your grandchildren by the way?" Reyna inquired, feigning interest in an attempt at small talk. Copley nearly rolled his eyes but went with a grin instead.

"Older, thinking they know better than anyone else, never visiting their poor old grandfather. My oldest grandchild is starting to get busy again with the new semester, so I don't expect to see him until he shows up, fashionably late mind you, to my birthday party."

"Sounds like my son, he's an arrogant little shit. Wants to be a Hero for the ladies," Reyna added with a roll of her eyes. After that, the conversations turned back to their work and the tedious job ahead of them. While they talked about who would replace Miller-Braun as the primary manufacturer of Hero costumes and equipment, the rest of the nation stayed glued to their screens, entranced, as the confirmed death toll continued to rise.

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Well then...there's a council? Prophet is a double agent? Who is his grandkid? Hm, Buixy you're leaving too many questions dammit!**

 **Well friend to that I say...yeah, there are quite a few unanswered or unclear things going forward. But where's the fun in revealing everything up front? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed that. We are nearing the end of this arc with only 2 chapters to go! See you guys next time (feel like I'm forgetting something but shit I don't remember and there's a hockey game on that I wanna watch so I gotta go)**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **Chapter 16: Clean-Up**


	17. Chapter 16: Clean-Up

**Heeey Everyone! So, First Off I'll apologize for last week's lack of upload. For most of the week I was sick, and when I wasn't I was busy at work. However, there's also another reason that may not be popular amongst you guys. I've gotten a bunch of advice from both the Discord server (Thank god for these guys/gals) and a few from PMs and Reviews and honestly, I can't disagree with some of the points they made.**

 **This Arc, while essential, is a bit...out of place? It feels like it's too early in the story and going back I can see that now. Hindsight is 20/20. We'd barely started to meet and come to know Class FH2 (This applies to me as well as I spent almost a month and a half not writing them which attributed to the difficulty I had with this chapter) and then I go and throw all these other big characters at you. Not the best for storytelling purposes. But what's done is done, not much I can do at this point, so I've made a few hard decisions going forward.**

 **1\. And this is going to royally piss off a lot of you...I'm delaying the introduction of Class FH1. I know, I know, but the main problem people had with this last Arc was the lack of time spent with our "Main Characters". I discussed this with the Discord folks (See this is why you should join, to get all the inside info and make an impact on the story), and we came to this decision. Now, you may be thinking "Buixy, why don't you just do what Hori just did and have a lesson between the two classes?" And to that, I say...good idea, but something I already have planned for later on down the line. Therefore, Class FH1 will not be showing up for a while (Maybe another Arc or two) in the interest of getting to better know Class FH2. If your submission is a part of Class FH2 and you would like to withdraw them from this story (Perhaps to submit them somewhere else) just let me know over PM. No hard feelings, I can understand being frustrated about not seeing your character.**

 **2\. Alright, back to these next two Arc that will focus on Class FH2...I didn't plan for this (My old plans were to jump from this current Arc right into a something involving two classes), so I am sending an open invitation to you guys. What'd you wanna see our classes do? It can be anything from filler-y type stuff to character-driven plotlines (Though I am reserving the right to deny these if I feel they are better placed later in the story).**

 **I think that's all I have to say about that, so we'll move on to other stuff. First...THANK YOU HIATUS FOR SAVING THIS STORY! But seriously, the reason this is going up so late is that my first draft of this chapter...well, he's too polite to say this but it sucked great big donkey balls. I took his advice and added in a scene that I was rather hesitant about (You may be able to identify it) and as usual, helped change around a lot of the confusing wording and overcomplications that usually follow my writing style.**

 **Next, YOU GUYS F***ING ROCK! Holy cow, we hit 50 favorites AND follows, I just asked you guys to hit one! Thank you all so friggin' much!**

 **Finally, Man, it's a wonder what the announcement of new Pokemon Games can do to restart your passion for the games. I've made significant progress in the planning and preliminary writing for my side story, which I've renamed to Pokemon Odyssey: Hoenn, after seeing Pokemon Journeys was already taken. Side note: I am fully on the Sobble train guys. Usually, I pick the grass starter (with the exception of Johto because of Cyndaquil) and don't get me wrong Grookey is adorable, but COME ON SOBBLE IS FREAKIN GREAT!**

 **Okay, I'm done. Jeez the AN might be longer than some of my shorter chapters. Hope you all enjoy and let me know your opinions to everything I have written above. PEACE!**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

Three years ago, Derrick Holl got a phone call from his old mentor. The phone call that landed him his job as a teacher, which he rarely regretted accepting. But today his patience was being stretched to the limit, with the grueling task ahead of him having just begun. When he'd first accepted his current position, he was freshly retired from his position as a Professional Hero at the age of thirty-four with a major back injury and was desperate to keep his adventurous fire burning. Though, he never once imagined himself being in charge of sixteen teenagers, many of whom seemed determined to make his life as hard as possible. On a normal day corralling the students was hard enough, but for the past three weeks, Thursdays had been a nightmare with the whole clean-up operation.

Ever since the Yonkers Incident, as it was being called in the media, he and his fellow specialist teachers had thrown their initial lesson plans out the window and, at the insistence of the school board, focused instead on getting the students into fighting shape as quickly as they could. Then came the order from the Council that the students were to suspend their second Hero Etiquette class of each week, something Barthory had stoutly fought against, and instead get on a bus and make the thirty-minute drive north to the ruined city to assist Pro Heroes and volunteers with the very extensive cleanup.

' _Three weeks and we've still only cleared a third of the blast zone. At this rate, it's going to be a while before the displaced can return to their homes. Well...at least the kids are learning the difficulties of the Hero life fairly early.'_ A sudden movement caught his eye and he sighed before stomping over to break up yet another fight. "Kazani, Ramirez, knock it off. Rivalries are all good but please stop having your grudge matches in class. We haven't even left the parking lot yet!"

"Tell Kazani to back off!"

"Tell Clara to stop yelling! It's annoying!" The two girls butted heads once again, completely ignoring the fact that their teacher was standing right beside them. Derrick groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why me?"

"Hm, as interesting as this it… I believe our energy would best be served once we arrive at our destination." The sound of his star pupil's voice was like music to the middle-aged man's ears, while the way he lifted the brawny Clara over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes really helped brighten his mood. As Lyon made his way to the bus, his unwilling passenger thrashed about, elbowing him in the head and punching his ribs, only to pull her hands away smoking. "Yes, I wouldn't do that. I've been told that when I get injured my body heat increases to a temperature akin to that of a bonfire."

"PUT ME DOWN YOU BASTARD FURNACE!" The irate Clara roared, her voice becoming louder with each syllable. Much to her surprise, Lyon complied and dropped her into one of the padded bus seats. She didn't even realize they'd boarded the vehicle. Her surprise quickly turned to annoyance as the orange-haired boy sat in the seat beside her.

"To make sure you behave," he said in response to her glower.

"You have two seconds to move your scrawny ass before I deafen you for life," Clara growled. Lyon just chuckled and raised his flint-tipped fingers and shoved them in his ears. "You think that'll help, smartass!?"

"Not particularly. I simply knew it would get a rise out of you." The magenta-haired girl snarled and reared back her fist. Just inches before it connected with his face, Lyon grabbed her by the wrist and raised an eyebrow.

"My, my, exceptionally violent this morning, aren't we?" Just then, the bus lurched forward and began to move. Seeing that she was most likely stuck due to the driver's Quirk, Clara pouted and leaned her head against the cool window, trying to ignore the noticeable wave of heat that seemed to pulsate off of her seatmate. After a few minutes, however, the heat became too much and she snapped...again.

"Turn off the space heater, Flame-idiot!"

"I'm afraid I cannot. It is a side effect of my Quirk, just as your loudness is a side effect of yours," Lyon shot back, the smile never dropping from his face. Clara went to yell again, but this time found no sound come out. Try as she might her voice seemed to have left her, so she settled on alternating glares between the smirking boy beside her and the seemingly oblivious bus driver. Meanwhile, just a few seats behind them, Melody sat re-reading a text conversation she'd had with her best friend, Nathan, just that morning.

Nathan: _Sorry, Mel. Gotta skip training this weekend. Little bro has some, like play or something. We can hang later in the day thouhg_

Melody: _Though*. And sure we can meet up, I'll just do my training by myself...all alone…_

Nathan: _Oh go to hell with your perfect spelling, Mel. And you better not be pouting, you know I hate it when you do that._

Melody: _Language!_

Nathan: _Screw it! I'm done with you, see ya Saturday._

The redhead frowned and set her phone down on her lap. ' _Crap, I was really looking forward to hanging out with Nathan again. Oh well, I've got that essay for literature due on Monday. I'll just get in a quick training session and then bunker down in the library to finish it.'_ Just then, she was broken out of her reverie as the bus swerved, bucking Kira out of her seat, to avoid someone running across the street on their phone. She had to fight back the urge to call out their driver, a hot-tempered man named Gregory Hopkins, on his foul language. "Hey, Melody~." A sing-songy voice said from the seat behind her. It was Kira, perhaps Melody's best friend outside of Nathan.

"What's up, Kira?"

"Whatcha doin'?" Kira's black eyes seemed to shimmer with something Melody had become very used to seeing in the girl's eyes over the past month… mischief. Before she could react, her classmate snagged the cell phone from her lap and ducked back behind her seat.

"Hey!" The redhead cried and lunged over the seat. Kira dodged and leaned back as far as she could go, her body bending so far over the back of the seat that she was nearly nose to nose with Eris Blackwood, one of the few people in her class that Melody hadn't had much interaction with. "Give it!"

"Oh-ho-ho, Melody is just being a bit cranky because she can't go see her boyfriend this weekend," Kira taunted playfully. If there was one thing about her friend that constantly stretched her patience, it was the girl's incessant need for gossip. Despite the fact they had only attended school for a little over four weeks, the black-eyed girl seemed to know every relationship, who liked who, and who was going behind who's back. Oh, and did she ever adore teasing anyone she could using that information, though Melody seemed to be her favorite target. In return, the redhead took great pleasure in taking advantage of the other girl's clumsiness. Nothing too serious, just occasionally moving around the furniture in the dorm.

"I _swear_ Kira, give me my phone!"

"You don't swear though," Kira said with a roll of her eyes. The struggle continued for a few moments before a well-placed jab to the ribs caught Kira unaware. She grunted and loosened her grip just enough for Melody to snag back her mobile device.

"I swear, sometimes the two of you are as bad as Kira is with Clara," said Andi from her spot next to Hazel, across the aisle from Melody.

"Quiet, elf!" The black-eyed girl retaliated, referencing Andi's large antennae-like ears. The shorter girl shook her head and turned back to continue her conversation with Hazel. It took a little longer for Kira and Melody to settle down enough to talk without making faces or pinching the other. Back at the front of the bus, Derrick smiled and shook his head. ' _I swear these kids are just as bad as we were back in the day. No surprise Melody gets easily embarrassed and annoyed at the mention of romance, Harmony used to be the same way… when she wasn't sucking face with her boyfriend.'_ His smile fell as the memory brought a stinging pain to his chest. ' _It's still hard to imagine that there is so few left from the old gang. The Abrams, Harmony, the Yancys, all gone. Now it's just me and...him. I swear I won't let the same happen to these kids.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The work was difficult. Despite the fact that they had full clearance to use their Quirks, moving rubble and clearing the burnt out husks of vehicles off the streets was enough to make even the strongest members of their class sore for the whole weekend. Melody had perhaps the easiest, but most stressful job. Currently, she was in her Wraith form underneath the unstable rubble of an apartment complex, checking for weak spots. "Uh, there's a really big crack in the north wall that we could use! The west is completely caved in, while the south is still spewing sewage, so let's stay clear of that!" She called from her position. Outside of the ruined building, she heard Alexander Blackwood call an affirmative and, just a few seconds later, there was a deafening boom and the north wall collapsed, which caused a chain reaction leading to the entire complex, which had resembled the leaning tower of Piza after the disaster, to crumble in on itself. For the briefest of moments, Melody had a surge of panic and her stomach seemed to be doing gymnastics as the rubble engulfed her entirely.

"You alright, Halloway?" Alexander asked, arm cannon still smoking, as she emerged.

"Yeah, 'm fine," she replied, holding a hand to her temple. Over the past few weeks of walking through the most dangerous areas of the ruined city, the time she could reasonably hold her Wraith form before getting a splitting headache had increased exponentially from ten seconds to around seventy. Ms. Gyakusetsu, the school's Quirk counselor, had informed her not to worry, that her Quirk, which had only really been used in small increments since she'd manifested it, was growing stronger with continued use. 'It's like a muscle,' the woman had said. 'The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.'

"You good, Melody?" The third member of their group, Narruk, inquired. She waved him off and reached into the utility belt of her costume, pulling out a small orange container which rattled whenever the pills inside moved. She swallowed one of the green capsules dry and sat down on a large piece of concrete, which looked to have been blown off the top of a nearby building. "Alright, I'm gonna call the cleanup crew and have them start to move to our position. How long until you can do another?"

"Just give me a few more minutes and I'll be right as rain," Melody grumbled in reply, lying back to shield her eyes from the oppressive mid-afternoon sun. "How's everyone else doing?"

"Kira's group was pretty excited to run into Aeroblast a little bit ago, but that's the only real news. I've gotta say, I had no idea your sister could swoon over a Pro Hero like that, Blackwood" Narruk added, giving their third member a cheeky grin. ' _It's nice to see him smile again. He's been so withdrawn these past few weeks. Lyon said he hadn't been sleeping well since the incident.'_ Melody thought. The metal scales that covered his arms seemed to bristle as he scowled. "Kidding, kidding. Alright, let's at least get moving to the next building. I think we're scheduled to take out two more before we pack up for the day."

"Ugh, are you guys trying to give me a massive migraine?" Melody complained as she stood and followed her companions.

"You'll get over it," Narruk replied, rolling his eyes. The next building was a two-story townhouse, located merely a block away and looked even worse than the last. For one its roof and top story had completely caved in, spilling broken glass and rubble onto the streets below. For another, it was almost completely seared black, as if it'd been left on a grill for far too long. ' _Seems like this house caught fire if the smoky smell is anything to go by.'_ Narruk thought. "This is one of the areas where Spitfire and Overgrown fought in full force."

"We should be careful. Flames like that could have completely melted any sort of structural supports. One wrong move and Melody's gonna end up in the sewers below...again," Alexander added with a sidelong glance at Melody, who grimaced. On their first Thursday outing, even though they'd been given extensive talks from the Heroes on duty to be extremely careful, Melody had been far too jumpy going into her first assignment. Whilst she was scoping out the interior of an old deli at the very outskirts of the blast zone, a piece of the roof had collapsed and startled her, making her lose focus and phase through the floor into the sewer tunnel below.

"Yeah...I _really_ don't wanna do that again," the redhead grumbled with a shudder.

"I bet. Alright, you good to go, Melody?" Narruk asked.

"Why don't you try doing something for once? You're the weak link of this demolition squad," Melody shot back teasingly, popping another of the green pills.

"I'm the team leader," Narruk said, looking affronted. Alexander snorted and turned his attention back to the task at hand, which Melody took as his way of saying 'get moving'. With a heavy sigh, she walked up to the closest wall and shifted. There was a tugging sensation in her gut and the odd chill that normally occurred whenever she turned into her Wraith. The world took on a slightly bluer tint and she took a moment to ready herself before stepping straight through the wall.

"She's gotten better at that. When we fought she could only shift for a few seconds and couldn't do it this soon after her last attempt," Alexander commented offhandedly, which surprised Narruk. For the entire three weeks, the trio had been a squad he'd never gone into 'small talk' with his classmate. Usually, the two would just stand in awkward silence until Melody gave them the layout, with Narruk making the occasional joke or point out something interesting.

"Uh, yeah she has I suppose. I've only fought her once and that...eh, didn't last very long. It seems like all of us are getting a bit stronger control over our Quirks." Narruk put on his best fake smile as he spoke. ' _Except me.'_ He thought bitterly. "The Forge is North America's top Hero school for a reason."

"Hm." Was all he got in reply, so Narruk assumed Alexander had said his piece and refocused on their mission. ' _Speaking of which...what's taking her so long. Usually, she's quite the chatterbug in there.'_

"Melody? How's it going?" He asked into his earpiece. There was no reply. He sniffed the air and was shocked to smell the distinct scent of dried blood and...ash? "Alex, something's wrong."

"Right," Alexander's reply came swiftly and the two boys ran towards the building. It took them a moment, but eventually, they came upon an opening inside.

"Melody/Halloway?" The two whispered in unison. Then Narruk's earpiece crackled to life.

"I'm here. I just...found something." Melody sounded a bit choked up, completely unlike the fairly confident twinge her voice usually had. Narruk and Alexander shared a look before carefully stepping over the waist-high broken wall into a shattered kitchen. Broken ceramics littered the floor and a bowl sat on the small table, the only thing that looked to be in one piece.

"Careful," Alexander murmured as the building gave a groan. A bit of dust fell from the ceiling and it took all of Narruk's willpower to keep his overly sensitive nose from sneezing. The crept along at a snail's pace out of the kitchen and into the main foyer. One of the two pathways was completely caved in, so the duo went towards the other, which connected the foyer to a hallway with three doors, two on each side and one at the end. The door at the end was cracked open slightly and a small glimmer of light emanated from within.

"There," Narruk said quietly, inclining his head towards the final door. When Alexander gave him a questioning glance, he simply tapped on his nose and the other boy nodded. The trip to the door felt like it took half an hour, each step was made louder by the crunch of the burnt carpet, which looked like it may have been a dark maroon if the few non-burnt spots were anything to go by. Narruk frowned once he reached the door and pushed it open. Inside the room stood Melody, standing stock still and looking at the ground. The wolf-boy made a move towards her but was held back by Alexander's hand clamping onto his shoulder. His eyes were hard, his mouth pressed into a thin line. That's when Narruk followed his gaze and his stomach twisted into a painful knot.

"What the hell?" He muttered under his breath. The walls of the room were burnt black, similar to most of the townhouse, but what caught Narruk's eye were the blackened toys and scraps of clothing littering the room. He flinched when he took a step further inside and stepped directly onto an action figure, the musculature of which could only mean it was one in the likeness of All-Might.

"Don't look in the closet," Melody warned, her voice sounding grim. Narruk paused and turned his head towards the double doors, one of which was hanging off its hinges, he assumed led to a closet. He'd ignored the smell as well as he could up until this point, smoke tended to have a bad effect on his increased senses, but now it was staring him right in the face.

"I'll call...uh, the removal squad. Let's move on to our next target, shall we?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm as he grabbed one of Melody's hands and led her back to the exit of the room. Alexander glanced towards the closet, seemed to get the idea, and followed. Once they were back outside and several hundred yards from the townhouse, Narruk took a deep breath. Melody, who had recovered slightly as soon as they'd left the house, yawned and lied down on a charred park bench, not seeming to care that it creaked under her weight.

"I'll call removal. Bastards have been getting lazy the past few days anyway." Narruk gave Alexander a grateful smile as the other boy walked a short distance away. It hadn't been the first time during their three clean-up missions that someone had happened upon something like this. Just last week, Clara and Andi had come back looking particularly pale from their assignment, even Lyon had lost his trademark creepy grin.

"You okay, Melody?" Narruk asked. The girl flinched, though she'd been expecting the question the moment they had left the building.

"Yeah. Just wasn't expecting that to be the first thing I came across. There was a lot of rubble through the wall I chose, so I just kept walking until I came out and…" She trailed off, shaking her head and sighing. She then stood up and stretched. "Come on, let's leave this for the removal guys. I bet they'll bring one of the Pros with them, so we've just got one more place to blow up and then we can go home."

"It worries me how excited you sound about blowing things up," Alexander said warily as he walked back over to them. "Anyway, we've got about half a mile until our next assignment."

"Ugh, why did Mr. Holl spread out our assignments so much. I don't wanna walk," Melody whined, hanging her head in defeat. Nevertheless, the trio started making their way south.

"So Melody, any big plans with your… ahem, friend, Nathan this weekend?" Narruk inquired innocently.

"No! Not you too, I get enough of that with Kira," Melody snapped, punching Narruk in the arm. Her anger quickly dissipated and was replaced with curiosity. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you something. It's-" Before their conversation could continue, however, there was a loud crunching noise from the street adjacent to them. Immediately, Narruk sniffed the air and recoiled.

"What the hell? Augh..."

"What is it?" Alexander demanded.

"Smells like someone hasn't washed in a month. Wanna check it out?" Alexander looked at the alley leading to the next street with trepidation, before nodding.

"Pincer?" he questioned quietly. Narruk was silent for a moment, listening Melody realized, before shaking his head.

"He's looking for someone. Might be a citizen. Let's approach with caution, but don't act aggressively. Melody, you good?" The redhead nodded and got to her feet, ignoring the searing pain behind her eyes. As quietly as possible, the trio entered the alley and tip-toed towards the sound of the voice, which Melody could now clearly make out.

"'Allo? Mister Spitfire? Mister Leech? Where are yer lads, right, I'm 'ungry and wanna go 'ome!" The voice sounded husky like it hadn't been used for a long time. As they exited the alley, Melody got her first glance of the voice's source. It was a very skinny, bald man with a gaunt face and clothes that hung off his figure like curtains. Narruk was, as usual, the first to step forward.

"Hey! You alright, buddy?" He shouted, warily keeping his distance. The man whipped around and stared at them with wide, hungry eyes.

"Who are yer? Do yer 'ave food, then?" Barty asked hopefully. Narruk raised an eyebrow and looked back at the two of them expectantly. Alexander shook his head once and glanced over at Melody, who sighed and extracted one of the small, 'fun-size' candy bars she'd hidden in one of her belt's pouches. Narruk took it, walked a few meters closer, and tossed Barty the candy bar. He raced under its arc and opened his mouth, swallowing it whole, wrapper and all. "Oh, that's so good. Thanks, right, yer really nice! Say, 'ave yer seen Mister Spitfire, then? 'e were 'ere just a wee while ago, right, but then them plants 'it me and I got stuck."

"Spitfire?" Alexander muttered, his eyes narrowing. That's when the familiarity of the name clicked into place for Melody. ' _H-He's with the Villains?'_ Alexander's arm began to shift into its cannon-form, but Narruk froze him with a glare.

"So, you're friends with Spitfire? I'm sorry to say he's long gone. Left right after the explosion," the wolf-boy said carefully, his eyes never leaving the malnourished man.

"That's...that's not right. Mister Spitfire wouldn't just leave me 'ere. It's gotta be a mistake, right, 'ow long ago were that 'e might be close by waitin' for me!" Barty yelled in a panic, his wild eyes whipping side to side.

"That was just a few hours ago. Listen, I'm a friend of Spitfire's." Melody did a double take at this, even Alexander looked perplexed. "He sent me here to give you your next mission."

"Me next mission, isit? Oh no, 'e's sendin' me back ter Detroit, ain't 'e? No, no, no that place were just awful. I were just left at the bloomin' base for twelve 'ours wiv no food, just awful. Please tell me 'e ain't sendin' me back ter Detroit, then? Or Chicago, that were pretty bad too. The base there is at the bloody top o' a buildin' and it takes so long ter get ter the ground ter cop them delicious 'ot dogs from the bleedin' food trucks."

"Ah, no. Actually...he's sending you to a place that has three square meals a day, your own room, and you get to watch T.V., how does that sound?" Narruk said his voice steady. Melody had to give her classmate props if it were her talking to a Villain up close and personal like that, her nerves would be fried.

"That sounds AMAZING! Wen' do I start, eh?"

"Right now. See, we're gonna take you to the Heroes and you're gonna go undercover. How does that sound? The boss has decided to move our bases, so make sure you tell them the locations of all the old ones to keep them off our trail, yeah?" Barty nodded happily at this, still probably thinking about the 'three square meals a day' part Melody surmised. ' _Gotta admit, this is a pretty smart plan. But...how the hell did this guy survive three weeks underneath a literal ton of rubble? What's his Quirk?'_ The redhead pondered. "Alright, just hang tight and we're gonna contact the Heroes, _don't fight them_. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I got it. Oh, I can't wait ter eat again, i'n it? It feels like I 'aven't eaten in months." Narruk ignored this and shot Alexander a look. He immediately pulled out the communications device that Mr. Holl had given them upon their arrival.

"Hey, we've got someone from the Black Order here. Sending our location now. No, Eris...get off this frequency. Yes, I'm fine. Just...no, we aren't in trouble. Mr. Holl, please just send someone here," Alexander sighed as he clicked a button on the device. Melody gave him an amused smile, which just made him huff and turn away. Five minutes later, the formerly abandoned street was filled to the brim with dozens of Heroes and the rest of Class FH2. Melody was sitting off to the side with Narruk, Alexander and Eris, who had immediately ambushed her brother and was bombarding him with questions when Narruk cleared his throat.

"You sure you're alright, Melody? I doubt Mrs. Holl would have a problem with you going to talk with her about this. Better that than to lose sleep over it, yeah?" Melody sighed, she'd expected this conversation from earlier wasn't over. ' _I really hop Narruk isn't able to sniff out a lie.'_

"It was a shock in the moment, but I think I'll be okay in the long run."

"I would agree with Narruk here, Melody," Alexander spoke up. Beside him, his sister's eyes darted from her brother to Melody to Narruk and back to her brother. "Besides, once we get to campus Mrs. Holl can get rid of the headache you've been trying to ignore for the past hour and a half."

"I don't-" Melody began, but stopped as she saw Mr. Holl walking over to them.

"Great job, kids. Especially you Narruk, you kept your composure and defused the situation without violence. This was a good example of what a Hero _should_ do. You'll sometimes be faced with situations like this in the future, so all of you remember to follow Narruk's example. Your brain is always going to be a much more powerful weapon than your Quirk," he explained before turning his eyes on Melody. "Halloway, take their advice and go see Leena. Might sound cliche, but talking about it does normally help."

"Uh, yes sir," Melody replied meekly. Derrick stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"You better, one way or the other I _will_ know. And not just because I can read your mind. Alright, head back to the bus and get ready to go, uh...try to keep Kazani and Ramirez from killing one another. That would look very bad on my record."

"Sure thing, Mr. Holl," Narruk replied. It still surprised the redhead how quickly he could slip into a leadership role amongst their class. ' _There's a reason he's ranked so high. Between him and Andrew playing peacekeepers, I'm shocked we still have any in-fighting. Though, I guess Clara and Kira's stubbornness and Lyon's penchant for egging the former on don't help much.'_ Melody pondered as they began to walk away.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho, hold up just one minute!" A familiar voice bellowed from above them. Melody craned her neck and was shocked to see the Second Ranked Hero, Oddball, sitting on a ledge with his legs swinging happily. "If possible, Psyche, I'd like to steal away one of your students. Just for a few moments, I promise!"

"Oh, Oddball. Aren't you supposed to be in D.C.?"

"Well, yes but it was so~ boring and I decided to come here to help! I can be quite useful in a disaster situation you know!" The Second-Ranked Hero said happily.

"Or completely use _less_ ," Mr. Holl shot back, rolling his eyes. Oddball seemed to take it in stride however and stared at the teacher...er, rather had his white sphere turned in his direction for a long enough time to make the man sigh.

"I never could win an argument with you. Fine, just make sure they're back on the bus by quarter-of, we've gotta get back to campus before Leena and the principle both kick my ass." With that, their teacher walked back towards the horde of arguing Heroes, and Oddball leaped down from his perch. Though it was impossible to tell which of the students he was facing, due to the large pure white sphere that encased his head, Melody had a feeling that underneath the sphere, his eyes were firmly set on her.

"Miss~ Halloway? Can we talk for a few moments?" Like last time she'd met the Hero, his voice was unnaturally high-pitched and childish. She nodded hesitantly, getting a surprised look from Narruk and the others before Oddball wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled a gun-like object from his belt. The next thing she knew, Melody was soaring into the air, a scream caught at the base of her throat. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the thrill ride ended and she was released from Oddball's grasp. She would have fallen to the ground if not for the Hero catching her arm and moving her back until her legs hit an air-conditioning vent, which she gladly sat on.

"Don't… do that... again," she said breathily. As she stared at the dull gray surface of the roof and tried to stop the world from spinning, Oddball removed and placed his white-sphere mask on the vent next to her. Forgetting any notion of trying to keep her nausea under control, her head shot up, her eyes widened at the sight before her. Underneath his helmet, Oddball was still fairly...odd. He had short, electric blue hair that looked as if it hadn't been combed in decades, bright yellow eyes that shone with mischievousness, and a rather pale complexion, most likely due to the time spent under his helmet, that showed off a myriad of pale white scars criss-crossing his face. When he smiled at her, she noticed the smile lines of his eyes.

"You have the exact look on your face that your mother did when I first revealed my face. Though, I suppose the context isn't the same. You're definitely seeing it way sooner than she did...and you aren't saying how cute my hair is so I'm assuming you don't have her brashness."

"I...uh, no. I tend to get that a lot. People say I act like my dad." At the mention of her dad, she noticed that for a brief moment, a shadow passed over the Hero's face but it was gone almost as quickly. "Uh, I don't mean to be rude Mr. Oddball, but what are you doing here? Mr. Holl was right, you're supposed to be stationed in the Capitol with Crusader and Nightlyfe."

"Ugh, but there's never any action there!" He cried dramatically, his posture slumping. "All the fun gigs go to those lower ranked Heroes, and all we get to do it PROTECT NATIONAL SECURITY!" He emphasized his final three words with a stomp of his foot. The fleeting moment of frustration disappeared his grin returned in force. "As for why I'm here. Well, once I heard the Freshmen of the Forge were working clean-up I decided it was long overdue for us to have a chat."

"A chat about what?"

"A few things. Firstly I just wanna say thank you!" At her bemused expression, Oddball cleared his throat and continued. "The laser-breath dude. I never did get to thank you back then. You showed the signs of a true Hero, then when I got into contact with Lionheart he told me who you were and that clinched it for me."

"Clinched what?" Melody asked, still slightly overwhelmed by the whole situation.

"An idea I had the moment I saw you rush out from behind that bus to protect your friend's father. I suppose I should apologize for leaving so quickly after that, and not for visiting sooner, but the life of a Hero is a busy one. Oh, uh anyway...yes, so they probably haven't told you this yet but at the end of your first year at the Forge, you are required to intern with a Pro Hero every other week in the summer. It's the only way the school board can justify giving you kids like two months off when other schools, like U.A., only have a few weeks or whatever," he paused and locked eyes with Melody. Her head was spinning, and not because of her impromptu grappling gun ride. ' _Does he mean... seriously?'_

"Y-You're asking if I...want to intern with you?" Oddball held her gaze for a moment before laughing.

"Yep! You see I originally discovered your mother through her Freshman internship, I was still a newcomer myself so I had to fight tooth and nail to be granted permission, especially considering I had refused several offers from more experienced Heroes to join their agencies, and the fact that I...I'm rambling aren't I? Ahem, so Melody Halloway. Will you follow in your mother's footsteps?" Melody needed no time to think. While she hadn't heard about the internship requirement before, it didn't surprise her. This also saved her from potentially having to beg agencies to overlook the problems with her Quirk.

"It would be my honor, Oddball, sir-"

"Ah, ah, ah, none of this 'sir' business. I hate when my sidekicks call me that. Especially Nicolas. He's like a broken record with 'sir this' and 'sir that' and 'sir you can't just ignore the orders of the Hero Council' or whatever. Bah! Just call me Oddball, or Odd like some of my other sidekicks. Your mother always called me something rather rude, so I won't repeat it and give you ideas. Oh, and don't tell anyone you've seen my face. I love to tease the paparazzi. It irks them to no end not to be able to ever see my face. I've had several of them break into my home over the past month alone. Did you know that there's a bounty of a million bucks if someone gets a picture of my handsome mug? I was thinking about going for it myself, but I'd be selling low. It's bound to go up eventually, so I'll wait until it gets high enough to-"

"Oddball? You're rambling again," Melody stopped him with a chuckle. ' _Who'd have thought the Number Two Hero would be such a chatterbox.'_ She wondered.

"Ah, sorry about that. Oh, and there is one other reason I wanted to speak with you today," Oddball said, his face turning stony. "I feel it's my duty as Harmony's teacher to inform you of this but… for now, I'll just say; be very wary of other Pro Heroes you aren't sure about."

"I'm sorry?" Melody inquired, her brow furrowing.

"There are certain things that are kept secret from the public Melody and I fear that once your identity as Teardrop's daughter comes to light… well, the best way to say this is that there will be those who will openly challenge or mock you. Seismos and Armada are two that immediately come to mind. Others will just flat out ignore you, and even more, will look upon you to rise to your mother's standing. Any sign of weakness and they will pounce. Be careful in your debut to the world, you mustn't lose."

"But...why would they hate me? What did my mom do to them?" Oddball opened his mouth to answer but froze, surged forward and shoved the white sphere back onto his head and not a moment too soon as a woman with pink hair, tied up in an uneven bob, climbed up over the side of the building.

"Hey, old man! You were supposed to meet me at five for the interview for _New York Now!_ You just left me alone trying to reschedule with Mr. Grubbs!" The woman pouted dramatically and crossed her arms over her chest. It took Melody a moment until she recognized her, during which Oddball babbled on about 'security meetings' and 'you look lovely today'.

"You're Bubble Bee! Oddball's top Sidekick ranked tenth among the Sidekick popularity index and the youngest to make the top fifty!" The woman, who looked to be no older than nineteen or twenty, looked over at Melody with surprise, as if just seeing her for the first time.

"Who is this? Oh! Wait a minute...she looks like a red-haired version of Teardrop! This is the girl you were talking about! Wow, she's a lot younger than I thought. So mini-Teardrop, are you a Freshman? I don't remember seeing you before I graduated last year." Just like her boss, Bubble Bee's spoke a thousand words a minute. Melody looked warily at the woman, remembering Oddball's warning.

"She's too young, Melody. For the most part, it's the older crowd you have to worry about," Oddball said suddenly as if reading her thoughts. Bubble Bee whipped around and glared at the masked man.

"You already told her!? She's way too young!"

"I only told her what she needed to know, and soon enough it won't matter how young she is." The two glared at each other for a moment...at least Melody assumed he was glaring back...before Bubble Bee broke off and turned to Melody with a white-teethed smile.

"Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Bubble Bee, Sidekick of Oddball."

"Uh, yeah I'm Melody." Before she could react, Bubble Bee walked over and bopped her on the head.

"Nope! You can't just go announcing your real name in public! What if there were a camouflaged Villain around? In the field, you've got to always announce yourself as your Hero name. Go on, try again!" Despite the fact she'd just gotten a lecture, Melody couldn't help but laugh at the girl's equally demanding and bubbly nature, though she supposed it had more to do with the woman's Quirk.

 **Bubble Bee**

 **Her Quirk: Laughing Aroma**

 **When she sweats, the aroma given off causes people to laugh uncontrollably depending on the amount of exertion she goes through.**

"Okay...it's nice to meet you. I'm Scarlet Phantom."

"Scarlet Phantom, hm? Well, you and your mother definitely have the same sense of subtlety, which is to say...NONE!" Oddball bellowed. "Anyway, we must be off! I've got several interviews to avoid!"

"Wait...NO!" Bubble Bee groaned as her boss leaped off the building, leaving her to clean up his mess. She mustered one last smile at the shell-shocked Melody before leaping off after him. The redheaded teen stood on the roof for a few moments before sighing and shifting to her Wraith form and falling through eight stories of the relatively untouched building until she hit the ground floor. By the time she arrived back at the bus, she was too exhausted to answer her classmate's questions, simply boarding the bus and collapsing into the first seat, falling asleep almost instantly.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Well….what'd ya think? I know you may be concerned, but trust me this event will effect Melody in various ways down the line. That wasn't just some throwaway moment. Like I said above, any questions, comments, or concerns be sure to let me know. Please, if you want to remove your character from this story (With the exception of those that have already appeared because I'm** _ **not**_ **going back and rewriting, that's way too much effort) let me know over PM. I know some people on the internet can be asswipes so I don't want you to go and ask in the reviews, then there are five reviews trolling you.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 17: Ready! Set! Go!**


	18. Chapter 17: Ready! Set! Go!

Chapter 17: Ready! Set! Go!

 **Heyo! What's up dudes and dudettes? So, I don't really have much to say before we start this chapter, which of course marks the beginning of a New Arc. Since I posted my Arc List like… tenish chapters ago I have completely overhauled it. So this is an Arc that originally wasn't meant to happen, but rather replaced the Class FH1 Arc that was originally slated to go here. This Arc, which is currently unnamed (let me know if you have any suggestions) is going to be based fully on the exploits of Class FH2 and I'm unsure of how long it's gonna last.**

 **Another thing, as it seems a few people may have gotten confused with the side stories. These are** _ **not**_ **Arcs in this story. This main story will last for 3 Parts, which will be posted as separate stories to keep them from being too dense. The side stories (Teardrop, Vesuvius, etc.) are also going to be posted separately. While these will be important to the story, you don't necessarily** _ **have**_ **to read them. All the info in them will be hinted at or re-explored in the main story. It's just a way to flesh out the world while not taking away from the actual plot. They will not be a full length story, at most lasting 20 chapters, and since I have them already planned out it will give me time to work on making Parts 2 & 3 better. Also, this isn't going to happen for a long, **_**long**_ **time with the one-a-week upload schedule. I hope this clears up some concerns and if you still have any questions you know where to message me.**

 **As usual, big thanks to Hiatus for Beta-ing. If these last ten or so chapters have looked better grammatically or flowed better it is largely thanks to him.**

 **Also, if you wanna see how Class FH2 looks, head on over to the Discord. One of our newer arrivals (StrifeStellar Mizo) has done some amazing work bringing these characters to life. The link is in my profile.**

 **That's it. I hope you all enjoy and as always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns shoot me a message.**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **September 25, 2317**

Melody awoke with a start, gasping for air and throwing her covers off. Her pajamas, powder blue and covered with chibi likenesses of America's top Heroes clung to her skin with sweat, while the afterimages of black fire and charred toys were still fresh on her mind. ' _They're getting worse. Stupid, stupid, stupid... it's been almost a week, when is this gonna stop? You've gotta get over it Melody, you're a Hero in training. Once you graduate you'll see far worse than some…'_ The redhead cut off her train of thought and leaped out of bed. A glance at her battered alarm clock revealed she'd woken up two hours earlier than normal, which gave her ample time to go through with her plan and still get in her training, breakfast, and shower.

Quickly throwing a jacket over her PJs, Melody trodded into the deserted halls of the girl's dorm and made her way toward the only place she could think of for complete privacy… the roof. Technically, the roof was off-limits to students and the door leading up to it was always locked, but for a girl able to walk through walls this had become her secret getaway the moment she had discovered it. The first time had been when she was exploring the dorm on the day she moved in. She'd seen the 'Roof Access Restricted' sign and immediately disregarded it. She'd been blown away by the view of the entire campus that the high elevation gave her and claimed the spot as her own, though she doubted she had anyone to contend with that was willing to break the rules so flippantly. ' _Nathan is a horrible influence. I feel bad for his poor, impressionable little brother. He'll grow up to be quite the troublemaker,'_ she thought as the cool night air sent a chill to her core with every breath. She stared up at the sky, which was mostly hidden by the smog of nearby Manhattan, for a few moments before remembering the reason she'd came in the first place.

She pulled out her phone, scrolled through her contacts until she came to a certain one, and hit the call button. The phone rang several times before the gruff voice at the other end finally answered, albeit a bit groggily. " _Eh, who's at?"_

"Dad, it's me. Wake up you old fart."

" _Melly? MELLY, MY DARLING! It's been so long since you last called. Your poor father has been stricken with worry!"_ Melody rolled her eyes at her father's theatrics. The man truly had no understanding of the word 'shame'.

"Yeah, sorry. School has been a killer these past few weeks. We just started Calculus and learning about the Rhode Island Seven. Plus, Mr. Holl has been keeping us to lectures and exercises to increase our Quirk control for almost a month now. I wish we'd get back to the practical stuff." Seemingly having recovered from his overly-dramatic episode, Carlyle hummed thoughtfully over the connection.

" _Well, you are just starting out, Melly. You must have patience. Learn from your father! I still have not eviscerated that Antonio boy yet, despite how often he disobeys me and screws up,"_ the middle-aged man said hotly. Again, Melody was caught between amusement and exasperation, which was a common combination when she talked with her father.

"It's _Anthony_ dad, jeez. And you be nice, Anthony is a nice guy, you just bully him."

" _WHAT!? Melly, are you...no, Anthony wouldn't have the guts. Even if he did I would tear them out of him if he so much as-"_

"Dad," Melody replied warningly. Her father fell silent at her tone and had a momentary lapse in his sense of reality. Just for a moment, a very brief moment, he heard the love of his life taking the place of his daughter on the other end of the line. But Carlyle snapped out of it as his daughter sighed and began to speak again, this time her voice more melancholy. "Sorry, I… uh, I didn't call just to catch up. I promise I'll come by the shop this weekend. I'll even bring Nathan along so you can extort his appetite. I just…"

" _Melody? What's the matter?"_ Any levity evaporated from his tone with concern replacing it. It had been a while since he'd heard her sound so uneven.

"You know how we've been doing the cleanup for the Yonkers Incident? My team and I were in charge of demolishing buildings the coordinators had designated as 'To damaged to justify repairs'. We did this for three Thursdays and did a pretty good job. It… it was my job to scout the house for weak points. But, last week I… there was this one house that… well, it was badly burnt from the Villain-"

" _Spitfire,"_ Carlyle interrupted and immediately cursed himself for it as he heard his daughter inhale sharply. He quickly apologized and a moment later she continued.

"...so the building was pretty much in ruins, and I had to find a place with enough space for me to be able to undo my Quirk. Well, I… um, I found a room with four sturdy walls. I shifted and entered the room and…" There was a long pause as Melody's eyes became watery. As soon as she felt her reaction she angrily wiped the tears away, her face burning with shame. With a deep breath, she began again. "I entered the room through the closet and… let's just say the recovery team wasn't very thorough on their first go-round."

" _I see. I'm very sorry you had to see that Melody. People these days get so caught up with the glamour that comes with the Pro Hero lifestyle they forget that with fame, also comes tragedy. More than anyone else, a Hero will be subjected to the world's worst."_ Her father stopped for a moment, almost as if he were trying to decide his next words very carefully. " _Only the strongest people can survive in the Hero world. There will be times you question your decision to travel this road, my darling. Whether you continue down that road or take your chance at the next fork is a choice you will be faced with countless times."_

"I _will_ become a Hero. I just… the purpose of a Hero is to protect those who can't protect themselves. I saw the room. These… people… were massive Hero fans. I can't help but think they died waiting for someone to help that never came. If a Hero couldn't protect them then…"

" _There is no true way to overcome the horrors you will undoubtedly see. The fact that you feel anything is proof of your humanity,"_ Carlyle told her, his voice grim. Melody wondered in that moment if her father was speaking from experience. She knew he'd had a hard life, growing up Quirkless and watching his friends and relatives lead successful careers, while he was stuck in his dingy little pizzeria left behind by his own father, who also had no powers. " _I'll tell you what my grandfather once told me; Do not pity the dead, for their suffering is over. Pity the living, for theirs has just begun. Your great-grandfather was among the best Heroes of his age. Our family, especially your mother's side, is stocked to the brim with Heroes and Villains. The Halloway and Christenson names are synonymous with some of the best and worst people of the Quirk Age. If this is any indicator, then you will go on to do great things Melody. No matter which path you choose, you've always got my support."_

"Thanks, dad. I should probably get going. I've still got school today." Her father bid her farewell, though he still sounded worried, and she hung up. The morning was quiet, even the birds hadn't begun to sing, as Melody clutched her phone tightly in her hand. Despite the talk with her dad, which actually did help her mood some, she still couldn't get the sight of what she'd seen that day out of her mind. With a sigh, she began making her way back towards the stairs but stopped and jumped behind a ventilation duct when the door burst open with a flurry of colorful swear words. It was Clara.

"Piece of shit bastard! How the hell can he just...GAH! I hate him so much. Thinks I'm his pawn, does he? Just his misguided attempt at 'perfection'. Bah! Selfish prick, I'm gonna rip his goddamn throat out!" In all their time at school, Melody had come to know her magenta-haired classmate as the very incarnation of anger and teenage arrogance. This, she realized, wasn't her normal anger… this was full blown rage. Clara swore again, whirled around, and slammed her fist into the brick wall surrounding the door and the stairwell behind it. "One of these days I swear I'm gonna destroy him. He wants to see strength? I'll show hi—who's there!?"

"Uh." Before Melody could react, Clara surged over to her hiding place and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket. Due to their difference in height, with Melody standing just under five foot five and Clara easily clearing six foot two, the redhead's feet swayed wildly beneath her, trying to find solid ground but to no avail. The look in Clara's blood red eyes was nothing short of pure hatred.

"You dirty little sneak. Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat you to a bloody pulp for eavesdropping?" Clara demanded. Melody stayed silent for a moment, wondering how the other girl had found her out when she realized something Clara had mentioned to their teacher when forming teams in Yonkers. ' _Her hearing is on superhuman levels. I wonder why. With her Quirk, it would be logical to assume her hearing was worse than normal or even in the process of deteriorating. Maybe her Quirk doesn't affect her? Or her eardrums or whatever are stronger than the average person's?'_ A quick but vicious shake snapped her back to reality and she was left staring in shock at the livid girl holding her. "Well? You gonna give me an answer or can I just skip right to the beating?"

"S-Sorry, Clara. I was just...doing some stargazing." Clara gave her a deadpan look and gestured upwards with her free hand.

"No stars to gaze at, crybaby." Melody sighed and hung her head, feeling for the first time just how sleep deprived she was from the constant night terrors.

"Fine. I had to call my dad because I've been having nightmares about seeing two dead kids, alright?" The words that left her mouth sounded a lot harsher than they had in her head and she hadn't really meant to tell Clara about the kids or her nightmares. To her shock, the angry teen's eyes shifted to some other, dare she say it, softer emotion she hadn't yet seen from her classmate. ' _Sympathy? Understanding? I didn't know Clara could feel anything other than anger.'_ However, the emotion quickly vanished and Clara flung her away with disgust, though Melody took her unbeaten state as a sign that the flicker of emotion hadn't been a figment of her imagination.

"Tch, you're not even worth my time anyway, crybaby. Weaklings like you don't deserve my attention," Clara said dismissively. Maybe it was her recent traumatic events, or the fact that she had gotten eight hours of sleep total over the course of the weekend but whatever it was in that moment, Melody didn't care.

"I am _not_ weak!" She growled, glaring daggers at Clara, who seemed a bit surprised that her verbal punching bag was punching back.

"Oh please, you've done nothing but lose and be mediocre since we got here. That first day you beat someone weaker than you and promptly got smashed by wolf boy, then you score in the middle of the pack for every test… shit, the only thing I've seen you even look semi-competent in was combat training, and you took on Kazani!" Clara scoffed. Melody opened her mouth to riposte, but suddenly a pang of realization hit her. ' _She's… not wrong. All I've done since arriving at the Forge is just kinda… exist. I haven't really stood out at all and my test scores are nothing compared to Hazel and Lyon. What have I been doing?'_ Clara obviously knew she'd hit a soft spot and laughed. "Pathetic. Not even an ounce of a denial? Come on crybaby, I thought you had more guts than that."

"I… you're right. I am weak," Melody admitted, feeling a sharp jab of self-doubt that she quickly smothered down. Before Clara could relish in her victory, however, the redhead retorted. "But so are you. Heroes are supposed to be who people depend on to provide support and aide. All you do is scare people off. Being a Hero isn't about the pursuit of power, it's about helping others."

"That's bullshit. How can anyone save others if they don't have the strength!? Power is all that matters. Just look at that weakling we have in the number one spot. He couldn't even stop _one_ Villain in time to stop the others from blowing up an entire city," Clara shot back, her tone full of loathing. Melody opened her mouth but before she could get a word off, her classmate was already skulking back down the stairs. In the silence that followed, the redhead sighed and sat down on the lip of the roof, her feet dangling over the hundred-foot drop. ' _I wonder who she was so mad at? I've never seen her that angry before. Maybe Seismos? But, from what I've heard he's a pretty pleasant guy when he isn't berating other Heroes for being wea… oh. That's gotta suck. I couldn't imagine the old man doing anything other than encouraging me. Ugh, this is too much to handle this early. I'm just gonna go start my training early.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody's face scrunched up in annoyance when she donned her Hero costume. While they'd been required to wear their suits during the cleanups in Yonkers, she still hadn't quite gotten used to the design. ' _I don't see any of the boys' suits being overly tight. Stupid perverted Support company.'_ She exited the changing room and threw her normal clothes into a locker before joining the rest of the class… except for Kira who was, unsurprisingly, late to class and therefore started dressing in her costume much later than anyone else. The redhead joined Andi and Diana as they spoke in excited tones about the class ahead of them. It was to be their first practical exercise since the first day when they'd fought in the labyrinth. The entire class seemed to be in a good mood, even Clara… though Melody assumed that was due to the prospect of letting loose her anger without getting hauled off to the principal's office. "Hey girls."

"Hey Melody," they chorused. Before they could continue their conversation though, Kira joined them in spectacular fashion… that is to say, she ran towards them, tripped, and crashed into Melody.

"Sorry!" Kira cried as she helped her friend regain her footing.

"'S fine, Kira." Just then Mr. Holl entered, holding a clipboard and looking far more jovial than he had in recent weeks.

"Alright, I've got something good planned for this week's class. Time to show off just how much progress you've made over the past month, so do your best and… just like last time, only two teams of the four will pass." This statement brought a collective groan from the students, many of which were still sour over their failing grade in the last practical. Mr. Holl had to try and hold back his grin. ' _Good thing they haven't gotten their report cards yet so I can still pull the 'only a few of you will pass' trick. Oh, how I love messing with their minds.'_ He cleared his throat and pressed the button to lower the room into the underground section of the school. "Now, today's class is all about progress. Specifically the progress you've each made in controlling and strengthening your Quirk."

"As insane as his methods are, he isn't wrong," Kira whispered in Melody's ear. This was something the redhead agreed with wholeheartedly. The past month they'd done nothing but lectures and pushed their Quirks to the absolute limit in order to strengthen them. In combination with how much she was using her Quirk nowadays, Melody felt as if she'd grown much more since coming to school than she had in eight years of physical combat training with her dad. The ride continued for a few minutes, even including a few horizontal changes in direction that surprised the class until they entered another cavern.

"Alright, here we are… Field IV." Unlike the cavernous room that held the Labyrinth, this one was far smaller and shaped more rectangularly. From their elevated position, the class could see their task for the day in all of its horrifying glory. "Today's exercise… Obstacle Relay."

"Holy crap," Melody muttered. The obstacle course itself was split into two different lanes with four parts each. On one lane there was a destroyed city block, a small lake with dark shapes moving just beneath its surface, a ravine with a rickety wooden bridge, and a section of highway. The other held a small derelict town like the ones Melody had seen in old movies, what looked to be a river of actual bubbling lava, a dark alleyway, and a simple black-surfaced field. Separating each of the different areas was an obscenely tall climbing wall with very few hand and footholds.

"As you can see this is no run-of-the-mill obstacle course. Each piece of this was designed by former and current teachers of U.S.A.E.I. with the sole purpose of making a student's life an absolute nightmare. Today, these nightmares become realities for you," Mr. Holl chuckled. He'd always loved the looks on his student's faces when he first brought them here. There was always horror, fascination, and disbelief but occasionally he was treated to some even better reactions. Kira had taken a step back and was now sitting on the floor, Lyon's grin had grown in size and looked even more deranged than normal, and Clara looked as if someone had just given her the exact present she'd asked for for Christmas. "Now if you please direct your attention to the board, you'll see your teams for today..."

"NO!" Two female voices roared in unison. Melody sighed as she looked over to Kira and Clara, who were, as usual, at each other's throats, then back to the projection which showed four teams of four students apiece.

 _Team 1: Andi, Marcus, Sirius, Eris_

 _Team 2: Alexander, Melody, Hazel, Diana_

 _Team 3: Lyle, Andrew, Rylee, Lyon_

 _Team 4: Clara, Oliver, Kira, Narruk_

"Great," Oliver muttered, glaring his three teammates, two of whom were already fighting whilst the third attempted to pull them apart. Meanwhile, Hazel and Alexander walked over to meet her and Diana, while Andi left with a happy 'later' to join her own team.

"Hey, Alex, Hazel," Melody greeted with a small wave, which was mimed by Diana.

"Hm."

"Camellia," the brunette corrected. For the past few weeks, she'd been trying to get her classmates to call her by her middle name, but to largely no avail as most of her classmates either forgot or, in Clara's case at least, didn't care. The only one who seemed to not only remember but actually enjoy calling her by what he said was 'a friendly nickname' was Lyon.

"Alright, so here's how this is going to work. Teams One and Two will station each start by choosing one person to start the race and putting the rest of their teammates at the top of each climbing wall. The teams will race at the same time and not only will each person have to clear a sector of the course, but will also have full permission to use their Quirk to incapacitate or delay their opponent. Whichever team finished with the best time will be declared the winner, so if you haven't already get with your teams. You have ten minutes to strategize before we begin," Mr. Holl explained. "Teams One and Two will be on Course One, while Three and Four will take on Course 2. Got it? Good, now get strategizing."

"Alright, so how do we wanna do this?" Melody asked after a moment of awkward silence amongst her group. "We've got the city, the lake, the ravine, and the highway. Not to mention the other team."

"I've got an idea," Hazel said, her eyes scanning the map of the course that was projected onto the wall at the front of the prep room.

"Hit us with it," Diana encouraged. Hazel took a deep breath and pointed towards the first area, the ruined city.

"Melody, we'll open with you. You've got not only the most experience crawling through buildings but the best-suited Quirk of the four of us." Melody felt a pit form in her stomach as she remembered her experiences in Yonkers. ' _Why does the universe hate me?'_ She pondered before sighing.

"You're right. I suppose I'll take it then," she said dejectedly, getting a sympathetic look from Alexander, one of only three of her classmates that knew what she'd seen. Hazel nodded and then turned to Diana.

"Komodo Dragons are fantastic swimmers, so you can take the lake, right?" The dragoness let out a sigh of relief and nodded gratefully.

"Easy as pie, those shadows are worrisome, but I can probably outswim them if need be." From her tone of voice, Melody could tell Diana wasn't speaking out of arrogance, but confidence. ' _Dad always said there was a very fine line between the two… granted he was always talking about Nathan but that's beside the point.'_

"This one is a bit difficult, but Alex are you okay taking the bridge? I know you're probably the heaviest, but this is most likely our best shot." Alexander looked somewhat annoyed at this, but nodded and turned his gaze towards the map. While it wasn't the most detailed, even Melody could tell the bridge wouldn't pass even the most primitive of safety codes.

"You'll take the highway then?" Melody inquired, looking at the map warily. It was the only part of the course that was a mystery to her. The first three zones were fairly straightforward, but the final one could go a myriad of different ways, each as bad as the last.

"Yep. I have an idea of what it could do, but I won't say anything. Andi has been listening to us this whole time," Hazel stated, turning her head to look at the other girl, who looked as if she'd just been caught stealing a treat from the cookie jar.

"So they know our strategy? What's to say they won't counter it with their own?" Alexander probed, glaring at his sister on the other team, who was currently making faces at her twin. Hazel sighed and studied the other team for a moment.

"If I'm right, they'll send Eris out to counter you, Marcus to counter me, Sirius, or rather Epiphany would probably want revenge on Melody for their last bout so that's her counter, and that leaves Andi to deal with Diana. Be careful of her Sickness Frequency, by the way," Hazel added to Diana. Melody frowned and opened her mouth to ask another question when a pair of loud voices broke apart the uneasy tension in the air.

"PISS OFF KAZANI!"

"MAKE ME RAMIREZ!"

"Of course," Melody murmured to herself as she turned to look at her classmates. The two were both red-faced and nearly nose to nose with one another. Despite the fact that Clara was using her Quirk, Kira seemed just able to keep in line with her volume. When she glanced over to Mr. Holl, Melody noticed his neutral expression and realized something. ' _He planned this.'_

"Both of you-" Narruk tried to cut in but was interrupted.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS WOLF BOY!" Clara exploded. Melody grimaced and felt a bit of pity for her friend. Just a few weeks ago he'd confided to her, in an attempt to try and cheer her up after she nearly lost her head when her Quirk failed, that his control was shaky around the time of the full moon, which was just two days prior and it was around this time each cycle that his instincts became more animalistic. So when the boy surged forward and grabbed Clara and Kira by their collars, Melody was the only one in the class that didn't seem surprised.

"Enough of this! We're all on the same team here, so stop the hardass routine and let's work together!" He demanded. It was even less surprising to Melody when Clara retaliated by planting her boot into Narruk's chest and knocking him back a few feet, freeing herself in the process.

"Touch me again, shit-wolf and I will tear you limb from limb," the magenta-haired girl threatened. Usually, the level-headed Narruk would have let this go, but Melody saw the feral look in his eyes and just barely had time to get in between the two before he pounced.

"Knock it off, guys!" She pleaded though this fell on deaf ears as Clara very easily swept her aside, an action that seemed to further enrage Narruk. Thankfully, before the two could clash, Andrew stepped forwards and waved his arm. In an instant, Narruk and Clara each stopped as their arms were forced behind their backs, almost as if they were wearing handcuffs.

"That's enough of that," the gravity user said. It was at this moment that Mr. Holl stepped forward.

"Alright, well there's the nucleus of this lesson. You brats have got to learn teamwork. Even if you decide to be a solo Hero when you graduate, you'll still be called on to work with teams from time to time and you must be ready for that. Now, get back with your teams and the next ones to act out of line _will_ fail. No tricks this time," the teacher announced.

"Tricks?" Melody asked inquisitively. Derrick Holl swore under his breath and shook his head.

"Nothing, now it's been about ten minutes. Teams One and Two to your positions if you'd please."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **There we have it. Melody still isn't quite over seeing dead people, Clara has daddy issues, and Narruk...well there are a few very inappropriate jokes you could make, but I'm not trying to piss anyone off. Hope you guys enjoyed and… Let's get to the preview.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 18: Fight or Flight**


	19. Chapter 18: Fight or Flight

**Hey guys/gals! Sorry, this is going up late but some stuff came up soooooo Monday upload.**

 **First things first, my normal beta (Hiatus) had some stuff come up irl, so this chapter is being uploaded un-beta-ed. I double and triple checked it, fixed some glaring errors, but until I can get it properly beta-ed I'll ask you nerds, to help me out. If you see even the smallest grammatical error let me know as it helps me improve my writing, which is sorely needed.**

 **Second, this arc is going to last a bit longer than I had originally planned. Some parts of the course are going to be shorter, while some will take up an entire chapter. Therefore, I'm making this an official arc: "The Obstacle Relay Arc". Such a perfect name (sarcasm if you couldn't tell). And you guys know what a new arc means…**

 **OPENING: Uncontainable - Set it Off**

 **ENDING: Circles - Pierce the Veil**

 **Third… uh, so this is a bit hard to explain but for the next two months, I will be experiencing a miniature heart attack on a nightly basis. For those of you who are on the discord or have read my profile, you know I am a hockey fan. What you may not know is that I am a HUGE hockey fan and the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on the 10th. My team, the Washington Capitals, is taking on the Carolina Hurricanes, which will be incredibly stressful in itself but I also make it a point to watch as many games as I can. Even if its a team I have no stake in and couldn't care less if they were eliminated (looking at you, flightless bird scum), I will watch and, like any hockey fan, enjoy every second. Where I am a bit different is that no matter which game I watch come playoff time I always feel stressed as I watch it due to the importance of each game. So here's my long-winded explanation of why chapters might be skipped or delayed until early June.**

 **Just a warning: If the Capitals are knocked out at any point I will most likely get a bit depressed because I can't watch my favorite team for 5-7 months. That being said… #Back2Back**

 **Alright, now that that's outta the way... AH! I forgot! Since it's an obvious thing to happen in any shonen anime, the stereotypical tournament arc will follow after this arc, though there may be a mini-arc in between to break up all the action. This will also serve as the intro to class FH1. EDIT: Screw it. couldn't get the link to work, so just made a poll on my Profile. It _should_ appear at the top of my profile... hopefully. Here are your options:**

 **-Standard. Basic 1v1 tournament (i.e. battle rounds of the Grand Magic Games, or any of the Pokemon Leagues)**

 **-Doubles. Students will be paired off and fight in a series of battles until one team remains**

 **-Hybrid. A mixture of the two that I am keeping somewhat of a secret because… reasons.**

 **Phew, that was a lot. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and as always if you have any questions, comments, or concerns don't be afraid to let me know!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Thanks, dad. I should probably get going. I've still got school today."_ Melody's voice, even distorted by the phone, still sounded hollow Carlyle noted glumly.

"Don't hesitate to call," Carlyle managed to get in before his daughter hung up. ' _Oh, my dearest Melody. If only you knew the troubles you will face in this cruel world._ ' With a sigh, the mountain of a man rolled back over and attempted to fall back to sleep… not an easy task by any means with the flood of thoughts going through his sleep-deprived brain. ' _Harmony… how I wish you were here. You always knew exactly what to say when someone was down in the dumps. Our little girl is growing up so fast but I can't stand it. Every step she takes forward is another step away from safety. I… I can't help her as you could.'_ Carlyle scowled at the thought, one that had haunted him since the day his wife died. Suddenly, there was a scuttling sound from the shadows at the edge of his bedroom. "For a rat, your stealth could use some improvement."

"Well, when I don't gotta fear for my life I tone it down. Ain't no reason to use my talents in a dump like this," a squeaky voice said. The voice's owner, a scrawny man with a triangle-shaped face emerged from the darkness and looked at Carlyle with beady eyes. "I don't gotta fear for my life, do I?"

"You always have a safe haven here, Rat. It must be important for you to be here so early. What's wrong this time?" He asked with a large yawn. Rat wrung his hands nervously and glanced around the room as if he were trying to find every single method of escape he could.

"You wasn't sleepin'. Who was you talking to?"

"None of your business," Carlyle said simply. Rat twitched again, pulled out a yellow manilla envelope, and tossed it onto Carlyle's bed. "What is th-"

"Everything I could gather on the Black Order. I...uh, didn't know where else to bring it. All my other contacts have gone belly-up in the past few months." Carlyle stared at the man in bemusement, which caused the Rat to shy away. "They… uh, they're gathering followers... fast. Strong ones too. That Spitfire guy… not even their strongest. Haven't seen the big guy yet, his name is Prophet… he's the one who killed Manticore.

"That is quite worrying. Manticore was quite the hand-to-hand specialist. What kind of Quirk does this 'Prophet' have?" Carlyle inquired.

"No… no one knows. He keeps mainly to himself and away from the recruits. I bet even the bigwigs don't know." This concerned the elder Halloway. ' _Specialist is putting it lightly. Manticore could defeat any of the other Top Ten in terms of a physical fight… with the exception of Crusader. To defeat him would take immense power and skill. It's troubling to think our enemy has members powerful enough to take on and defeat two of the best Heroes in North America.'_

"Anything else?" Rat coughed and shifted nervously.

"They call their leaders the Five Generals. The Generals, uh, of the North Wind, South Wind, East Wind, and West Wind. The fifth is their Black Ops commander. C-Carlyle…" The rat-faced man frowned and directed his gaze to the floor. "I, um… I don't exactly know how to say this lightly but, uh, Vesuvius joined them."

"What?" While he managed to keep his tone neutral enough not to scare the fragile man before him, in his heart he was seething with rage. ' _She finally makes a reappearance. After so long I can finally… no, I'm no match for her.'_

"There's more… but, um, I'll let you look through that. Give it to the, uh, police or something if you want. I'll try to get more info, but… I swear that Leech guy can read my thought, he's always giving me this odd smile."

"You said all of your contacts have gone silent? Why exactly?" Carlyle interjected, his eyes boring holes into the file on his lap. Rat paled, which was a feat considering how pasty his skin already was.

"Not silent. Most of them are dead, the others… loyal members of the Black Order. That's the deal they give you. Servitude or death… painful death… slow death," Rat murmured, his beady eyes wide. ' _You are as cowardly as ever. How you manage to keep your cool enough to get vital information from the most dangerous places I will never know.'_ Carlyle thought amusedly.

"Yes, yes, is there anything else or can I go back to sleep? I have a reputable restaurant to open up in the morning, so I can't be sleeping in." Rat actually had the gall to snort at this.

"Reputable? I've seen your food storage. Not to mention the bathrooms." Just as quickly as the bravado had come into his tone, it vanished as he saw Carlyle's glare. "Uh, right. Sorry, so… no, not much else I can tell you that you can't, uh, just read in that file."

"Alright. Thank you for this, Rat. I will make sure this gets into good hands."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Hazel was spot on," Melody muttered under her breath as she and Sirius, who was looking a bit paler than normal and avoiding her eyes by examining the mounds of rubble that lie before them, awaited the start of the exercise. If she were being honest with herself...she wasn't doing much better. ' _I always hate being center stage. Not to mention my teammates are counting on me to get a winning time. It should be relatively easy to move through the rubble with my Quirk, but that's not my main issue. If I had to guess, the moment this starts and we step into the course, Epiphany will attack while Sirius makes his move. I don't think she'll let me go quietly, so I've gotta think of a countermeasure. I can still only hold my Quirk for sixty seconds under the best of circumstances but with someone breathing down my neck… my concentration will be harder to maintain.'_ The redhead scanned the first wave of rubble, made to resemble a collapsed apartment building, to try and think of a strategy. ' _I need to get into the ruins as quickly as possible. Dodging Epiphany will be a must, but I don't know if she can phase through objects as well. She is a spirit, after all, I don't know how the rules work with that. I could possibly use the same strategy I used last time and aim only for Sirius. She feels all of his pain so I can use that to my advantage… granted they'll be expecting that s-"_

"ALRIGHT!" Mr. Holl's voice called over the loudspeaker, instantly cutting off Melody's train of thought. "Now that everyone is situated, let's do this! When you hear the buzzer it's time to go!"

"Good luck," Melody said to Sirius as the two of them converged at the starting line. The indigo-haired boy just nodded, looking as if he were actively trying to keep his lunch from making a reappearance, so Melody refocused on the task ahead. Seconds later, a loud buzzing noise filled the underground cavern and the two entered the course. Almost immediately and just as she had predicted, the redhead had to dodge the large, wooden baseball bat that soared through the air at her head. ' _Predictable, yet dangerous. Not a good combo,'_ Melody decided as she glared at the spirit, who stood just a few feet away, smirking. Meanwhile, a few dozen meters behind her Sirius climbed over a broken down wall and out of sight.

"Hey again, Melody!" The spirit girl snarled, a manic grin on her face. In quick succession, Melody ducked under another swing of the club and only just managed scoot back out of the way of a kick. The redhead countered with her own, trying to sweep the spirit's legs out from underneath her but to her shock Epiphany just leaped into the air and floated ten inches above the ground. "Surprised?"

"Love to talk, Epiphany but I've got an obstacle course to win!" Melody shouted as she turned, shifted into her Wraith form, and sprinted towards the pile of rubble she'd been eying earlier, the now irate spirit girl right on her tail. Once she reached it, she dove inside. Darkness immediately engulfed her, as well as the chill she always felt when phasing through solid matter. Melody walked through the black space for a few moments until she found an opening big enough for her to disengage her Quirk. ' _Deja-vu,'_ she thought as a chill went down her spine.

The interior of the building wasn't empty like she'd imagined it would be. It looked as if someone had lived there up until the moment the building collapsed. The room she'd materialized in was obviously a dining room with an ornately decorated wooden table and chairs, many of which were broken or reduced to splinters. Broken plates and glass littered the floor, making Melody move even more cautiously. ' _At least there's no fire damage,'_ she mused. The redhead stumbled her way through the dining room, as well as its attached kitchenette, and emerged in a dark hallway. Almost instantaneously she was back in the townhouse in Yonkers. ' _Deep breaths, Mel. I highly doubt anything like_ that _would be here… no matter how realistic the Forge made this place.'_

All in all, it took her not even two minutes to make her way through the debris, though it felt much longer, and climb out a window relatively unharmed on the other side. ' _Well… at least I didn't have a panic attack. That's always good,'_ she thought meekly. Unfortunately, she had no time to revel in this fact as Epiphany's club was once again on a collision course with her skull. She ducked underneath the weapon and scrambled into a fighting position. Green eyes glared at the semi-translucent girl. "Holy crap! You could've killed me!"

"Sorry, but I can't let Sirius down, so I gotta take you out! All's fair in love and war, right?" The spirit girl grinned and threw her right fist forward, Melody craned her head away but only too late realized it was a feint when the spirit's left hand successfully connected with her jaw. Melody saw stars for a moment but recovered just in time to get out of the way of a large, wooden spear that sprouted from the side of the baseball bat. Epiphany smirked and the wooden spear-bat hybrid began to glow a bright white light. "Nimble, ain't ya? Alright then, take this! Widow's Web!" Melody had zero time to react as hundreds of razor-sharp wooden needles burgeoned forth from the original bat. Several of the needles pierced her flesh in multiple places, causing her to cry out in distress. The redhead quickly shifted forms and exited the intricate web-like structure of needles, wincing in pain at the numerous bleeding pinpricks all over her skin.

"God bless America!" She yelped in pain. ' _Feels like a thousand paper cuts. So many friggin' splinters. She really isn't messing around. Stupid Quirk… not having offensive capabilities.'_

"I'm not done!" Epiphany roared. Still on the defensive, Melody stumbled out of the way of the spirit's kick and shifted to her Wraith form to avoid another spear jutting out of the bat at a nearly impossible angle. The battle went on like this for several long minutes with Epiphany attacking mercilessly while Melody tried her best not to get skewered. ' _She's good. Obviously, she has some fighting experience from when she was alive. That gives her an edge, sparring is so much different than the real thing and I've only had that one in Brooklyn with Laser Mouth.'_ The spirit again attempted to use her 'Widow's Web' move but this time Melody was ready for it and managed to avoid it as well as giving herself some room to breathe.

"That all?" Melody taunted, trying to hide how labored her breathing was already. ' _Sirius must be nearing the finish line by now. I've gotta get a good enough time for the others to make up for my weakness. That means I've gotta shake Epiphany again. There has to be some way to get away from her indefinitely. Hm, I wonder…'_ The redhead grinned as an idea entered her head. She'd seen an entrance not far from the starting line but hadn't wanted to risk it. Now, she had little choice. She ran towards the center of the street and briefly activated her Quirk, smiling widely as she immediately deactivated it. "Sorry, Epiphany! I've got a race to win!"

"Like I'd let you get away! My ultimate move: Frenzied Roots!" The spirit girl bellowed, slamming her bat onto the asphalt. The ground rumbled for a moment before splitting under the strain of roots growing from the ground, each as wide as the wheels of a monster truck. The roots tore through the earth right at Melody, whose smile didn't wane. ' _I knew she was a fan of Overgrown, but this has gotta count as plagiarism.'_ Right up until the roots were five feet away, Epiphany felt confident she'd won. Her opponent hadn't moved and showed no signs of doing so. Then, the girl's form shimmered into her alternate, and if Epiphany was honest with herself frightening, form and slipped into the ground beneath her. "WHAT?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Meanwhile, in the partially collapsed sewer tunnel below, Melody grinned to herself. "Can't believe that worked. Thank goodness for the Forge's want to make everything as realistic as possible." Pleased with herself and her quick thinking, the redhead turned and sprinted in the direction of the finish line. However, she soon found this task to be more difficult than she'd expected. The sewer system was a complete maze, with dozens of twists and turns, side tunnels and steep drop-offs. There were several times that Melody forgot she was in a training exercise and started to feel nervous… then she'd remember she was in a training exercise and start to feel nervous for a completely different reason. ' _I can't dawdle. My team is counting on me. Alright… I've gone far enough. It's time to resurface and see where the heck I am,'_ Melody decided and glanced towards the ceiling, which was only two feet above her head. ' _Screw it.'_

The redhead reached her arms above her head and clasped on to the largest pipe she could see with all the strength she could muster. Once she'd established her grip, she took a deep breath and began to sway. ' _Just like a swing,'_ she thought as she kicked her dangling feet forward and then pulled them back quickly. A few kicks later she had a decent rhythm going… until the pipe snapped. Her back and head slammed into the stone floor hard enough to make her see stars. "Ow, okay… let's not do that again," she groaned. It took her another moment to collect herself before she shakily got to her feet. "I've got to get out of here before too much time passes. There's gotta be a way up that doesn't include crappy gymnastics or giving myself a concussion."

Then she saw it. A few hundred feet down the narrow tunnel to her right was a ladder. "Ask and you shall receive." The rungs of the ladder looked rusted and a few were missing. Gritting her teeth, Melody began to climb until she reached a manhole cover, phasing through it and appearing in the streets above. ' _No sign of Epiphany or Sirius. Maybe I've lost them? Even so, I have no idea where the finish line is. Dangit, this place is so much bigger than I thought it'd be. Just how big are these underground training facilities anyway? Mr. Holl said two former teachers built it with their Quirks… I wonder what they were.'_ After getting her bearings, sorta, she began her trek towards where she thought the exit might be. However, as with most of this exercise so far, things didn't go her way for long. She never even saw the roots creeping towards her until they wrapped around her legs and dragged her down. Luckily she managed to bring up her arms to avoid face-planting the asphalt. "Are you kidding me? Where do you keep coming from?"

"You sure are a slippery little devil, Melody. Too bad the Two-Bit Heroes are… uh, not so slippery. Wait, that doesn't make sense. The Two-Bit Heroes are stickier? Sirius help me out," Epiphany said, glancing over her shoulder at her teammate, who just sighed and shook his head.

"I hardly think that's important. We're close to the exit now. Can we please just get this over with? I'd rather not get any more injuries," Sirius complained. Melody was slightly surprised by the condition her foe was in. Despite not having been involved in either of the two fights, he was covered in scrapes, bruises, and a nasty looking black eye. ' _Jeez, remind me never to let him or Kira go anywhere together. I don't think the school could pay for the damages.'_

"Bah! Whatever you buzzkill. Same plan as before, then?" The spirit asked, to which Sirius nodded an affirmative. ' _I can't let him get away. If what he said is true the finish line is close by, not to mention… I think attacking him is the only way for me to defeat Epiphany.'_ The moment the indigo-haired boy began to run away from the two girls, Melody charged at him. When she'd closed about half the distance, Epiphany stood in her path. "Wood Wall!"

"Sorry about this!" Melody cried as she sprinted straight through the massive wall of wood as well as Epiphany herself, which the spirit unquestionably did _not_ enjoy.

"No! Get back here coward!" Epiphany screeched. Ignoring her, Melody finally got close enough to her opponent, switched back to her normal form and swept Sirius' legs out from beneath him. The boy hit the ground hard and wheezed when the redhead placed her foot on his chest, applying just enough pressure to make it hard for him to get a complete breath. From ten feet away, Epiphany glared at her but made no move to advance.

"Like I said, sorry but I won't lose. My team is counting on me," Melody said and grabbed the small metal canister that hung from the back of her utility belt, something that hadn't been a part of her initial design but rather an addition she'd requested at her father's suggestion a few weeks back, and held it aloft threateningly before faltering. ' _Does mace work on spirits? My punches and kicks seem to land just fine most of the time so she definitely is at least somewhat solid. Can she change her intangibility? Welp, only one way to find out I suppose.'_ And with that, the redhead sprayed an orange-colored plume of dust at the spirit, specifically towards her eyes. Epiphany cried in pain and brought her hands up to her face, while Melody smirked and took her foot off of Sirius. As she began to run towards where she assumed the exit was, she was almost immediately crashed into by a large, wooden hammer.

"You jerk! That friggin' hurts!" Epiphany bellowed, rubbing at her eyes with one hand, tears streaming down her face while holding the hammer in the other. Melody, who'd slammed into a derelict bus, gasped in pain and struggled against her wavering balance. ' _Something… something feels broken. Not good.'_ Taking his opportunity, Sirius got to his feet and ran.

"Damn! Get back here!" The spirit girl shouted as Melody stumbled past her and after the boy. ' _This has been going on way too long. I wonder if the other matches will last his long?'_ Melody thought as she ran. By her estimates, it'd been fifteen minutes since they first entered the ruined city, which was three times what she'd predicted it would take. ' _Doesn't help I've got an annoyingly persistent spirit on my tail. Speaking of which…'_ The redhead sighed and shifted into her Wraith form as a flurry of wooden needles shot through her ethereal form. However, she was forced to stop her Quirk as a blinding pain seared through her skull. ' _Da-dangit, I've been using my Quirk too much. No time to stop and take one of Mrs. Holl's pills. I've gotta just push through it.'_

"There it is," Melody muttered to herself. As the trio turned around a corner, all of them seemingly focused on the final goal rather than their previous fight, the large climbing wall that marked the end of the course loomed. At the top, she could just barely make out the short-statured Andi and the reptilian Diana.

"That's it! Twisting Roots!" Epiphany shouted and slammed her bat onto the ground. Just as before, the ground tore itself apart as large, thick wooden roots burst forth from it and surged toward Melody. At the last second, and ignoring all the pain she'd been feeling so far, the redhead phased and nearly blacked out as a result of the sudden onslaught of pain. She cried out in agony and her form faltered as she fell to her knees. For just a brief second, Epiphany saw the girl's face and a shiver went down her spine. While her form was usually pretty creepy, this was just downright terrifying. The upper half of Melody's face was normal, not even turning ghostly like it normally did. From her nose to her chin, however, had completely changed. It looked as if someone had melted the skin from her jaw and just left behind the grinning teeth of a skeleton. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the visage disappeared and both Epiphany and Sirius collapsed to the ground, wheezing and coughing. "What?"

Meanwhile, Melody felt a surge of energy flow through her and her migraine disappeared completely. With the finish line in sight, she charged for the rock climbing wall and began pulling herself up, completely unaware of her two adversaries lying on the ground below her feeling as if all their energy had been sapped. Epiphany gave one last confused look up at her fellow redhead and promptly vanished, leaving Sirius to try and gather himself.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Round one is over! Melody gets the narrow victory with a time of sixteen minutes, thirty-five seconds, while Sirius notches eighteen minutes, seventeen seconds. Well done. Absolutely some areas you could both improve in, which we will go over when all is said and done but otherwise a good match. Now, Andi and Diana get going to your starting positions," Mr. Holl announced over the loudspeaker. While the half of his class not participating in the current event watched from the viewing area, Derrick had excused himself to the observation room, a secret room with feeds from cameras in each area that covered every nook and cranny. With his next pair of students preparing themselves, the teacher took a moment to reflect on what he'd seen. "I didn't think she'd reach this point so quickly. Harmony told me that the girl's grandfather hadn't reached this stage until he was seventeen or eighteen. It seems _that_ Quirk is getting more and more powerful. This… could be a serious problem." Derrick knew what he had to do, but was extremely hesitant to do it. After a few moments of mental gymnastics, he sighed and called for Diana and Andi to begin before fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. He quickly dialed a number and held it up to his ear as it rang.

" _Halloway Pizzeria, how can I help you?"_

"Carlyle. We need to talk."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Epiphany I don't know!" Sirius whined as he got checked out by Mrs. Holl, who was swearing at her husband under her breath. Ever since he'd forced himself to the top of the climbing wall, the voice of the spirit girl had been pestering him about what had happened with Melody. "It was like all my strength just drained out of me."

" _Yeah, I could feel it too. It's odd, so far she's only shown the ability to evade attacks with her Quirk. Do ya think she might be hiding something?"_ The voice in his head asked. Sirius sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know. Mrs. Holl, is there anything odd about my condition?" The school nurse looked at him with an eyebrow raised and simply shook her head.

"Mostly cuts, bruises, some pretty bad trauma to your eye. What did you say happened to that again?" As Epiphany laughed at him in his mind, Sirius blushed before answering.

"Ran into a stop sign." Leena hummed at this and had to fight back a grin. "So there's nothing wrong, like, inside? Maybe a concussion or something?"

"No. Honestly, your story about losing your energy is quite baffling to me. None of your injuries could have caused something like that to occur," the nurse said before walking over to the curtain divider around his bed. As she exited she spoke again, this time sounding threatening. "I have to go check up on Ms. Halloway. Don't you dare even think about moving around too much. My Quirk got rid of your pain, but that's no excuse to go aggravating your injuries just because you can't feel the damage you're doing."

"Yes ma'am," Sirius replied meekly and was left alone with Epiphany once again. It still didn't make sense to him. ' _Melody doesn't really seem like the kind of person to keep a secret like that. She's even explained her Quirk in great detail several times, so why did she never mention this?'_ He pondered. Thinking back on the incident he recalled the girl's expression during the chase had gotten increasingly more pained with every use of her Quirk. She'd even yelped in pain when she used it to dodge Epiphany's last attack. "I'm lost."

" _As usual. Though… I can't help but think that maybe she_ was _hiding something from us. I mean, people like to keep their secrets. We're a prime example."_

"Yeah, but still. It seems like such an odd thing to keep to herself. Maybe… maybe she didn't know she could do it? Or she can't control it? Or… uh, something along those lines. I dunno, whatever it was it looked like she didn't even notice."

" _It felt… similar to when you, well…"_ The spirit trailed off and Sirius was once again left by himself in silence.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **What's this? There's more to Melody's Quirk than meets the eye? Find out what more there is in *checks calendar* Eight Months! I don't think that's a lie either. One upload a week makes things go by slow. Anyway, onto the preview!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 19: Sibling Rivalry!**


	20. Chapter 19: Sibling Rivalry

**Okay, my last few author's notes have been pretty long, so I'll keep it short.**

 **First, Thanks Hiatus for Beta-ing**

 **Hey how's it going guys?**

 **Make sure you vote on the poll on my profile**

 **Join the discord**

 **NEW UPLOAD DAY IS MONDAY**

 **Hope you all enjoy**

 **Any questions, comments, or concerns you know where to contact me**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Alright, the second match is officially over. Diana wins with a time of six minutes and twelve seconds, while Andi follows with fifteen minutes and forty-one seconds bringing the total for Team Two to twenty-two minutes and forty-seven seconds, while Team One has fallen behind considerably currently sitting at thirty-three minutes fifty-eight seconds,"_ Mr. Holl's voice announced over the intercom. Kira gave Andi a sympathetic smile from her seat against the wall as the thoroughly soaked girl sank down next to her. In truth, the race went exactly as most had expected it to. Andi gave it her best shot but, with Diana being a better swimmer and almost immune to her frequencies due to the combination of her awful hearing without hearing aids and the water nullifying her Quirk to a large extent, in the end, the odds were stacked too high against her.

"You did well. If it were anyone beside Diana, I'm sure it would've been closer," the black-eyed girl said cheerily, attempting to raise her friend's spirits. The antennae-eared girl sighed and pulled her knees close to her chest, resting her chin atop them. In all the time they'd known each other, Kira hadn't seen the girl look so dejected.

"I know. From the beginning, I knew I'd lose yet this was the only way to ensure my team's success. My Quirk just isn't really suited to these challenges… well except maybe the bridge. I could've used my Sickness Frequency to make my opponent fall but Eris was adamant that she take that portion after hearing her brother was participating. Anyway, how's the planning for your match coming along?" Kira flinched at the question and glanced over to the other side of the room where Clara stood by herself, glowering at anyone who even looked her way.

"It's… going?"

"You haven't even discussed a strategy have you?" Andi asked dryly, a small smile on her face.

"N-Not really. Narruk has tried but he's a lot more irritable today than I've seen him. Clara is, of course, no help whatsoever and Oliver hasn't even tried. He just said he'd take the town and get it over with. Honestly, I think I should take the lava as it won't really affect my movement but… if Lyon takes that one like I think he will then Clara will absolutely challenge him. Gah! Why did Mr. Holl have to put me with her?" Kira whined dramatically. Beside her, Andi chuckled and shook her head, which despite her display brought the black-eyed girl a sense of relief. ' _At least she isn't feeling so down anymore.'_

"Hey nerds," a new voice said as its owner sat beside Andi.

"Melody! Where have you been?" The brunette asked. The girl in question grinned sheepishly and that's when Kira noticed the condition she was in. Her costume had been shredded in many places and her visible skin was covered in strange green bandages.

"Had to go to the infirmary. Epiphany's Quirk is not very friendly up close and personal. I had more splinters in me today than I have ever had, and considering the treehouse Nathan and I tried to build was a literal death trap, that's saying something," the girl explained. "You did awesome by the way, Andi."

"You saw?" Andi asked, her previous dispirited attitude making a reappearance. Before Kira could warn her off the subject, Melody nodded and smiled brightly.

"The T.V. in the infirmary. Had you gone up against me you'd have won easily. My Wraith doesn't protect me from non-physical threats." The antennae-eared girl's eyes widened at this and she leaned towards the redhead eagerly.

"Really? How so?"

"Well, obviously your frequencies would hit me since they don't have a solid form, the same can be said about Clara's Quirk. While the destructive aspects wouldn't harm me, the sound generated would blow my eardrums even in my Wraith."

"I never would have guessed. I just assumed your Quirk protected your from all damage."

"Not exactly. It just protects me from physical damage," Melody clarified. "Lyon's fire would also affect me to a lesser extent. The actual flames won't hurt me, but the heat they generate can still torch me… though it'd probably be more of a minor sunburn than an actually harmful burn."

"That means you can still be hit by my burning shockwaves then, eh?" Kira asked with a devious smile. The redhead rolled her eyes and retorted.

"Maybe, if you didn't trip over yourself before getting close to me." The two girls started playfully shoving each other, completely ignoring the fact that Andi was sitting between them. The antennae-eared girl was about to scold them for it but stopped when she realized something and smiled. ' _They're trying to cheer me up. Melody knows about my interests in Quirks and Kira always tries to make me laugh. These two…'_

"Andi!" Diana's reptilian snout twisted into what passed as a smile for her as she walked up and sat in front of the trio. "You did a good job! Don't let the difference in time get you down, you were insanely fast for someone who didn't have a natural advantage."

"Thanks," she replied meekly, unable to help the wide smile gracing her face. ' _I've made some good friends here. I'm so glad I decided to come here,'_ she thought. Just then, the voice of their teacher cut her off before she could voice these thoughts.

" _Everyone ready? Good! Let the third match… BEGIN!"_ Almost immediately after this declaration all conversation in the observation room died down and every pair of eyes focused on the video screen, which showed a rather enthusiastic Eris racing her much more sedate brother to the rickety bridge. Kira blanched at the sight, thankful that she wasn't Eris or Alexander.

"I have a feeling this is going to go very poorly."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Come on, dear brother! Gotta keep up or you'll lose your team's lead and everyone will be really sore!" Eris called happily as she sprinted across the small plateau that proceded the rope bridge. For his part, Alexander was in a dilemma. While he wanted to help his team to win this challenge, the very idea of fighting against his sister in such a dangerous setting made him slightly queasy. ' _Damn, Mr. Holl knew this would happen. Ms. Hanoka must have told him about my hesitance to spar with Eris.'_ The boy scowled and made his way to the challenge at a much more leisurely pace, lost in his thoughts. As such, he was not surprised when Eris made it there first. What did surprise him, however, was when she stood at the edge of the plateau and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're as childish as ever, Eris."

"You know you love me!" The girl shouted back teasingly before she began making her way across the bridge two moldy planks at a time. For the most part, this strategy paid off for her as she made it about halfway before her foot went through a plank and she was forced to grab on to the frayed rope guard. Her entire right leg, up to the hip, dangled through the hole in the bridge and she grunted in pain. Alexander swore under his breath and raced across the bridge at an even greater speed than hers, though he only made it about a fourth of the way before he ran into the same problem. "Damnit!"

"Ha! I knew that would work!" Eris cheered as she pulled her leg back up without difficulty. ' _She tricked me!'_ Alexander discerned. To further push this point forward, the brunette laughed at his position and continued her way to the other side. ' _I really do hate her mischevious side.'_ With a grunt, he attempted to pull himself back into a more stable position. Unfortunately, he weighed much more than she did, so while the strategy worked for her his extra weight just caused him to snap the only board still holding him up. In a flash, he'd gone from chasing his foolish sister to falling into a deep ravine. "SHIT!"

"... he'll be fine," Eris muttered to herself as she saw her brother in freefall. Before the boy could drop more than fifty meters, his metallic legs began to shift into miniature propulsion rockets. ' _Good. He didn't eat much for breakfast this morning so his fuel supply will be low. Probably just enough to get him back on the bridge. Well, well, well dear brother. I think this is checkmate for you! My plan worked to perfection!'_ Eris celebrated, pumping her fist before turning to continue her way across the bridge. However, due to this, she didn't see her brother's arm transforming into a small cannon, which highly resembled the head of a dragon-like creature.

"Inserting Frost Core: Freezing Hell!" Alexander bellowed as a blizzard shot forth from his hand cannon straight towards Eris. The brunette could only grunt in surprise as the blisteringly cold wind hit her, shaking the bridge beneath her in the process. Now with steady footing and his sister temporarily immobilized by the accumulation of frost on her legs, Alexander carefully began making progress towards her. ' _Bastard! Who does he think he is? Attacking his baby sister, cowardly!'_ While the more rational side of her brain informed her that she had technically provoked him, she ignored it and turned her back to her brother.

"Black Bone Barrage!" She cried, gritting her teeth in pain as several charcoal-colored bones shot from her back at high speeds, forcing Alexander to stop his pursuit and dodge haphazardly. He managed to get out of the way of the first two and block the next three with his armored forearms but the next four hit him simultaneously on either side of his guard. The feeling of one of his ribs cracking nearly made the boy blackout and he shot his sister an annoyed look. While his attack had been geared more towards stopping her, she went full bore and attacked with a ferocity he only saw when she was truly irritated. ' _That attack took just as much out of her as it did of me. Now's my chance to catch up. Sister or not, after that, I_ am _winning this.'_ Unfortunately, it seemed his sister had the same idea because as soon as he started moving, so did Eris, and their determination wasn't the only thing the students were sharing. Every breath he took nearly caused Alexander to lose consciousness, while Eris gave a small yelp of pain with every step, her back bore several small holes that each bled profusely. Despite the pain, Eris' took advantage of her positioning and made it to the other side a good thirty-five meters ahead of Alexander. Biting the inside of her cheek, she created a rather sharp length of bone from her wrist and pointed it tauntingly at her brother. "I win!"

"ERIS DON'T YOU DARE!" Alexander roared as he realized what she intended to do.

"Sorry, dear brother. I've got to make up some time for my team. I hope your ribs aren't too bad!" Eris called back as, in one swift motion, she sliced through the frayed ropes. For a second, time seemed to move in slow motion as the bridge fell. Alexander, at the last possible moment, leaped from the collapsing structure and slammed into the rock wall of the ravine, only barely managing to grab ahold of it. His vision went blurry as his ribs flared up worse than ever. ' _If they weren't broken before, they are now. Shit, I should've known she was planning that. I am not looking forward to this climb.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Team One finally gets their first win with Eris' time of eight minutes three seconds, bringing their total to forty-two minutes and one second, while Team Two's Alexander finishes with fifteen minutes flat for a total of thirty-seven minutes and forty-seven seconds. The Final event for this heat will begin momentarily."_

"Jeez, that fight was pretty brutal," Narruk remarked, though Andrew didn't miss the undertones of tension in his voice. ' _I wonder what's wrong. Narruk is usually a relatively calm person. Most likely something to do with his team,'_ the Gravity user decided before responding, choosing not to voice his thoughts.

"Alexander seemed pretty hesitant to attack her. If he'd used one of his other elemental attacks he would have easily won."

"His fatal flaw. I hate to think of what he'd do if he faced his sister during the Halloween Festival. Probably embarrass himself," Lyle drawled. The three stood in silence for a moment before the shortest of the group glanced over to the three loners of the class, focusing on the orange-haired boy. "What do you think the deal is with Lyon, then?"

"What'd you mean?" Narruk inquired, following his gaze out of the corner of his eye. The boy in question was standing away from everyone else and had his signature smile on his face while his eyes scanned the map of the twin courses.

"He's… odd, don't you think? If I didn't know any better I'd assume he was unfamiliar with social norms."

"Perhaps he's just a bit socially awkward?" Andrew suggested, though unlike the other two he didn't sneak a glimpse at the subject of their conversation. Lyle shook his head with a frown.

"Maybe. I can't seem to get a solid read on him, he's an enigma." Narruk grunted in agreement with the white-haired boy before leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. ' _Lyle has a point. I can't seem to get a read on him anyway and I won't deny that makes me a bit wary.'_

"Whatever it is, not really our business. Besides, he seems like an alright guy," Andrew said. Lyon, unaware of his name being the subject of a debate, turned away from the map and started walking over to Clara. When the girl saw him approaching she scowled. ' _Not this guy again.'_

"What the hell do you want, MacAllister?" Undeterred by the venom in her voice, the orange-haired boy simply stood beside her and was silent for a long moment.

"Don't you think you should try to help your teammates instead of pushing them away?" He inquired. Taken aback, Clara stared at him as if he'd sprouted a second head. "Heroes are meant to help people, yes? I would assume that extends to your fellow Heroes as well as regular civilians."

"Piss off, flame brain. Why the hell would I want to associate with weaklings like Kazani or Mondronen," Clara spat angrily.

"You know, you are quite unlike anyone I've met since coming here. Most of the class is either on the positive side of the spectrum or caught in the middle, though you seem to be fully entrenched in the negative. It's puzzling to me."

"What's puzzling about it?" Clara barked back, appearing more and more frustrated by the conversation by the minute.

"Why would someone with so much potential like yourself intentionally stunt their growth by isolating themselves from their peers. From what I've read having positive relationships with others gives one a reason to grow stronger, yet you seemingly ignore this fact. If I'm correct, you could challenge me for first in the class if you applied yourself in this way," Lyon explained sagely. Clara's face scrunched up in confusion at his words, spurring her responce.

"Don't believe everything you read, moron. 'Positive relationships'? Give me a break. Do you think positive relationships can put out a fire? Stop a rampaging villain? Save people from a natural disaster? No, strength is the only thing that matters. Don't let the accomplishments of a few Heroes fool you into believing that. Crying your enemies into submission is as good a strategy as you jumping into a pool," the girl retorted with a snort. For the first time that she'd known the strange boy, Clara was legitimately shocked to see a frown overtake his expression.

"I see. I suppose I could be wrong. Your line of thinking does indeed seem to have a basis in reality. I have been deemed the strongest in this class, yet have never had a friend in my life, so maybe you are right. However… I hope you are wrong."

"The hell is that supposed to mean, fire idiot?" Clara demanded. ' _This asshole… why is it so easy for him to get under my skin?'_ her mind thought as her body sprung into action, grabbing Lyon by the collar and lifting him in the air. Before he could answer, however, Clara again felt the intense pull of gravity around her. "Go to hell, Abrams."

"As long as you continue to attack your classmates, I will continue to stop you. I believe Narruk said it best earlier. As long as we all follow the path to becoming Heroes, we are on the same side." The magenta-haired girl growled and struggled against the grip of gravity before there was a snap and a wall of fire separated the two, breaking the boy's concentration so that the increased gravity disappeared. Both students looked over in bemusement at Lyon, who held one hand aloof with his middle finger and thumb in position to snap again.

"What? I was simply breaking up a fight between students. No need to look so confused," he said simply, his smile returning.

"No, that's what _I_ was doing," Andrew responded, to which Lyon just shrugged.

"Really? I wasn't aware I was engaged in a conflict. Clara and I were simply discussing our opposing viewpoints. Talks like that _do_ tend to get slightly heated, yes?"

"Piss off, MacAllister. I don't need your sorry ass fighting my battles for me. And get rid of this fire! It's annoying!" Clara roared before stomping off to a deserted corner of the observation room. Andrew shot Lyon one last look of confusion before wandering back to Narruk and Lyle, who both watched the scene with expressions of amusement. Left alone, Lyon sighed and turned his back so that he was facing away from the prying eyes of his classmates. ' _This is much more difficult than I imagined. Having to put on this facade of normalcy. She was right… I don't truly belong here.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

As soon as the word came for the next round to start, Hazel glanced nervously at the ten-lane highway before her. If she were being honest with herself, this was the only part of the challenge that baffled her. ' _What kind of obstacle could this be?'_ She wondered as she took her first step onto the blacktop, noticing that Marcus was clearly waiting for her to do so. Almost immediately, there was a rumbling sound and, if it wasn't for her Quirk, she would have been flattened by the massive eighteen-wheeler that drove past her at a speed such a vehicle should _not_ have been capable of. "What are they thinking? Are they trying to kill us?"

"There must be some sort of trick, right?" Marcus questioned, glancing towards the direction the semi had come from. At the beginning and end of each lane was a dark tunnel just big enough for one of the trucks to fit through. The gray-haired boy experimentally tapped his foot on the asphalt and pulled it back just in time to avoid yet another truck. ' _No. No tricks it seems. Just an insanely dangerous game of dodging traffic.'_ He then smiled and shook his head. "All those times growing up when Oliver told me to go play in traffic… bastard must be loving this."

"Oh well, I guess we've gotta just go for it, then?" Hazel asked nervously. The only answer she received was Marcus rushing past her into the street and barely avoiding a speeding semi. ' _Can't just sit around, can I?'_ With a sigh, the brunette waited for the next truck to pass before she rushed to follow her opponent. The next few moments were spent in a hectic game of 'Chicken' with every step the two students took causing another eighteen-wheeler to appear and nearly flatten them. Around the time of her third near-death experience, Hazel was really starting to get annoyed. To the shock of those watching the match, including Marcus, the girl simply stood in place as a truck drove right at her.

"Move it!" Marcus yelled, unable to contain his worry for his classmate. To his shock, the girl still didn't move and the truck drove through her… quite literally. ' _What? How the- an afterimage?'_ The boy thought in awe. It took a moment to pick her out, but then he saw several Hazels all sprinting across the highway. ' _Holy hell.'_ Only the sound of an approaching vehicle broke him out of his daze as he was forced to dive out of the way. By the time he regained his composure, Hazel had reached the halfway point and stopped. It took him a few minutes to catch up to her and see exactly why she hadn't moved. While the first five lanes had only sent a truck at them when they made contact, the final five seemed to have no quarrel with sending dozens at a time. "You've gotta be joking."

"This… doesn't look good… for our times," Hazel wheezed, obviously winded by her display of speed. Marcus scowled and attempted to focus on the obstacle ahead of him, which was no easy task as the trucks seemed to blend together. "I think… we just gotta… go for it."

"You sure you're up to it?"

"Y-Yeah… definitely!" The brunette replied with fake enthusiasm. And with that, she took off again, dodging in between trucks faster than Marcus could track. ' _Damnit. She has a huge advantage here. Maybe I can use my adrenaline? It's supposed to be used for when I overwork my Quirk, but this might be a good enough exception.'_ Having come to a decision, Marcus flipped open a small compartment on his forearm and pressed one of the two buttons. He winced at the small prick to his thigh but almost immediately breathing became easier and he felt his heart rate increase. He waited for the next truck to pass and used the minuscule interval between two trucks to leap into the next lane. For a moment everything was a blur as he dodged truck after truck, the adrenalin keeping him going at full speed. But, as he was about to reach the final lane, disaster struck.

" _And Hazel… er, Camellia Aria has finished with a time of six minutes thirteen seconds!"_ Mr. Holl's voice bellowed over the intercom. Marcus faltered slightly when he realized that his team had lost and accidentally misstepped into the next lane, right into the path of a speeding semi. ' _SHIT!'_ In the split second before the vehicle made contact, Marcus activated his Quirk and held his hands out to meet the truck. As soon as the truck connected with him, it slowed considerably but the boy grunted as his body temperature spiked. His entire body began to glow orange as sweat poured down his face. ' _CHANNEL IT!'_ His brain screamed at him. As the heat continued to build, albeit, at a slower pace than before, Marcus focused on transferring the energy into his arms and legs with the intention of completely stopping the truck. With the newfound strength, his legs began to tear up the asphalt and his hands dug into the truck's grill. Just before he reached the very end of the highway, the truck slowed to a complete stop and he collapsed, breathing hard. ' _Gotta… get up. Gotta… get… up.'_ Using what little strength he had left in his overheated and overexerted body, Marcus shakily got to his feet and shuffled towards the finish line. ' _Thank god this part doesn't have a climbing wall,'_ he thought as he reached the line and blacked out.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Marcus, you idiot," Oliver muttered as he watched his friend being transported to the infirmary by a pair of what looked to be children, or in his opinion Trolls, with wild white hair and milky blind eyes.

"You two go back then?" Kira inquired, looking surprised to hear him talk. Oliver grunted and, seeing he wasn't getting out of this without giving the girl a concrete answer, shook his head in exasperation.

"Yeah. Childhood friends, or whatever. The only reason I'm even here is that he didn't want me wallowing in a public high school in Minnesota. Anyway, have you guys finished fighting enough to formulate a plan, or not?" He demanded, giving his team an irritated look, that was returned by the moody Clara.

"I'm taking the lava. I'll teach that fire bastard to talk to me that way," the magenta-haired girl growled furiously.

"I guess I'll take the town," Narruk, who was currently looking as if he'd been the one hit by a truck, added. Oliver nodded at this and gave Kira an analytical look. The black-eyed girl flinched under his scrutiny and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"You take the blacktop. I have a feeling you'll do the least damage there," he said sharply, causing Kira to slump over dejectedly. ' _I wonder who the matchups will be. It's annoying not being able to plan ahead for this. The alley… perhaps the best place for me, though it'll be hard to fully stretch. Why does this class have to be so troublesome.'_

" _ALRIGHT! Planning time is over! Teams Three and Four please move to your designated area and let's get this second heat underway!"_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Okay, so...what'd ya think? I'm sorry about cutting Diana vs. Andi btw. I just really couldn't find a way to make it competitive as Andi's Quirk was almost completely useless in that scenario and Diana had a natural advantage due to her being part Komodo Dragon (Which can swim surprisingly well, fun fact). I did so much research into trying to make the fight/race based in reality but just couldn't find a way to make it competitive. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the latter two fights. A bit of sibling rivalry (don't worry they were never in any real danger. If they'd fallen there is an anti-gravity thing that was put in place by a former teacher) and Marcus going Toby Maguire Spiderman (sorta) on a speeding truck. Now let's get to the preview!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 20: Narruk vs. Andrew**


	21. Chapter 20: Narruk vs Andrew

**OKAY! Let's get into this. First off, this chapter is in its raw, un-beta'd form because Hiatus is sick (Send him well wishes), so excuse any grammatical issues. Second, I'm… not sure about this chapter. I've had a very trying two weeks and not really in the bad way, or a good way… kinda just a way. If you follow hockey at all (and you've read my profile) you know that the Washington Capitals were knocked out of the playoffs, which sucks. However, before I could stew in that too long I went to see Endgame the night after and OMFG! If you didn't like this movie I have to ask: What is it like living in a world where you can't just like things and have fun?**

 **Uh, anyway the reason this chapter is soooooo delayed in coming out is that I've been… in a funk for the past week. I'm not sure what's exactly wrong, but my head has just felt extremely foggy and it's hard to concentrate on anything. This chapter was perhaps the hardest to write so far just because I couldn't string together more than a hundred words at a time before just zoning out. So I truly apologize if this isn't up to my normal standards (which aren't the best to begin with, but still) and I will try to do better once the fog clears a bit.**

 **Also, there is now a Community Page for this story (Just search Purpose of a Hero and it should come up... in theory), so if you are interested in joining go right ahead. If you have any interest in writing a One-Shot/Off Shoot of the PoaH Universe, just shoot me a PM and I'll add you to the staff. Not sure if a lot of people are interested in something like this, but hey, gotta try new things, right?**

 **Remember to vote on which style of tournament you wanna see, join the discord if you haven't already. We've got Fan Art, memes, Chapter Previews, and a very easy way to get into contact with me 24/7 if you have any questions. Alright, that's it. I'll stop boring you now and get on with it. I hope you all enjoy and have a great start to Ramadan if you're of the Muslim faith and have an awesome start to May if you aren't!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"ALRIGHT! Planning time is over! Teams Three and Four please move to your designated area and let's get this second heat underway!" Derrick Holl shouted into his intercom as he observed a dozen screens laid out before him. ' _This is going much better than I expected. Usually, when I wait a month to give the second practical the students show signs of fatigue. Even those in General Hero. There won't come a time when this class doesn't surprise me.'_ During his ponderings, the teacher failed to notice the door behind him slide open and an elderly man in a ruffled suit walk in until the newcomer practically collapsed into the chair beside him with a heavy groan, causing Holl to nearly jump out of his own chair in shock. "P-Principal Fetisov?"

"Da, how's it going Derrick?" The man asked casually. Principal Igor Fetisov, at least in Derrick Holl's eyes, was not the man one would picture when thinking of the head of the most prestigious academy in the whole of North America. His shoulder length black hair, which in his old age had become flecked with gray, was usually held in a bun, while his wizened lavender eyes were mired by smile lines. His clothing was rarely ironed and, more often than not, did not match, including his socks. On his feet were a pair of black and gold running shoes that looked older than Fetisov himself, held together by small thin wires.

"Uh, pretty good. How was the conference?" Derrick inquired, to which Igor responded with a loud groan, propped his chin onto his left palm, and uttered a few choice curse words in Russian.

"A damn nightmare. Honestly, for people who run the most important schools in the world, you'd think they'd give us a better place to meet than some dinky little pub in northern Scotland. All because that hag Hughes just needed to be home in time for her great-great-great grandson's birthday party. Bah!" He exclaimed, obviously still annoyed by the thought. "That woman has been a thorn in my side for years. Ridiculous. Then that… what the hell's his name… Mudiwa? The headmaster of the South African school? Ah, anyway, all he did was complain about the rise in Villainous activity in his area, which got everyone else talking and again led to Hughes whining about the Red Sun attacking some embassy in London."

"That bad, eh?" Derrick mused. ' _Seems like the rise of Villainy is global. Even more reasons to accelerate their training.'_

"Let me know when you're ready to take my place so I can retire and go to Tahiti to die in peace."

"I see your sense of humor hasn't diminished over the summer," Holl observed with a roll of his eyes. "Now, why are you here... other than to gripe about your fellow Headmasters?"

"What? I can't stop by and prepare my successor for what he'll have to deal with?" He asked innocently, causing Derrick to sigh and turn his attention back to the video board, where the students of the next heat were silently waiting for him to give them the go ahead. But, as usual, it seemed Clara's patience was being stretched to its limits.

" _MacAllister, if you don't shut the hell up I WILL rip off your arms and shove them up your ass!"_ The Sound-Quirk user roared, jabbing her index finger into the chest of a seemingly unperturbed Lyon. Though Derrick grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose, his superior appeared to find the whole exchange amusing and started to chuckle.

"I'm guessing that's Seismos' kid? Strange, he was always so quiet in his years here. Usually, it was you and Maximillion Abrams that caused all the trouble," the elderly man reminisced.

"That's because Max was extremely easy to egg on. Say one word about Jeanne and he'd flip his lid. Richard was just content to hang around Harmony…" Derrick's smile trails off and he glances towards the screens again. Sensing a change of conversation was in need, Igor coughed and nodded at the duo again.

"That's him? Funny, I expected something different from the 'the greatest student to ever grace our halls'...Elvira's words not mine," he commented. Derrick grinned in response and turned his head to address the principal.

"You have no room to talk about expectations."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell me about him." Derrick sighed and reached into his bag, pulling out a yellow folder.

"Lyon MacAllister. Quirk: Pyrokinesis, though I think there's more to it than that. Perfect five hundred on his entrance exam. He's has dominated in every combat situation we've placed him in. Although he excels in his studies, I believe he doesn't really understand the motives or purpose of Heroes. He constantly questions any and every simulation or lesson, not in a disrespectful manner but more of a genuinely curious one. I've never had a student like him. If anything… he reminds me of Miles," the blue-haired man explained, reading directly from his personal notes on the boy. Igor whistled and leaned back in his chair.

"Comparing him to the Number One already, eh? Second time in the past few years you've done that… Meh, the last one was a bit of personal bias I suppose," he said, a sly grin on his face.

"I still stick by what I said about Rune. If he can just get his head out of the clouds he could easily surpass Overgrown, no disrespect to the guy. The theory about Quirks getting stronger in each passing generation is given even more proof with these kids." The two men stayed silent for a few moments before Igor cleared his throat.

"Gotta say, I've never seen you so dedicated to your students. Past years, you've really taken a backseat to their training and let them figure out their own." The moment the words, which held no venom whatsoever, left the elderly man's mouth, Derrick flinched and his face darkened.

"And look how well that's worked out." Immediately realizing his mistake, Igor's carefree demeanor vanished and was replaced by a more sympathetic one.

"Isobel's death was no fault of yours. If what my sources say is true, then the one who killed her is likely that Spitfire fellow from the Yonkers Incident. Even the top Hero couldn't easily defeat him. No matter how much training you gave her, it wouldn't have mattered in the end," the principal consoled. ' _You say that. I still can't help but think about how many of my former students have been hurt due to my ineptitude. I_ will not _fail this group. For Isobel.'_

"Ahem, anyway… what'd you say we stop making these kids wait, huh? Any longer and Clara's gonna make good on her threat."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Narruk grimaced as another wave of nausea and pain washed over him. His muscles ached, eyes stung when the light hit them just right, and his palms refused to stop sweating. He glanced over at his opponent, who stood off to the side observing the course ahead of them, and clenched his fists. ' _Even if the moon wasn't a few days ago, I'd be at a massive disadvantage. I'm faster and stronger, but that means nothing if I can't move freely. My best plan is to avoid Andrew at all costs… when the hell are they going to start this thing? Mr. Holl sure is taking his sweet time.'_ The brunet growled and turned his attention back to the derelict town before them.

To his surprise, it wasn't how he'd first imagined it. It was… clean. Each and every house looked as if it'd been made with a cookie cutter, with only paint jobs distinguishing one from another. The same was true for the cars that lined the streets and sat parked in driveways. However, what really stood out were the mannequins. Hyper-realistic men, women, and even children frozen in their daily routines, as if time itself didn't flow in the town. ' _Those things are way too creepy.'_ The wolf-boy was too caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize the starting horn had gone off until he saw Andrew racing into the town. He swore under his breath and started to sprint after him, only to feel his body weight increase exponentially. "Sorry, but I'm not losing this."

"Sonofabitch," Narruk grumbled as he struggled to move. Andrew gave him a regretful smile before lifting into the air and shooting off towards the climbing wall at the other end of the town. ' _Shit! No, no, no I will_ not _lose this!'_ The wolf-boy renewed his struggles as the hair on his arms began to elongate. His left eye began to change to a more reddish color and with each breath came a slight growl. Only just in time did he realize what was happening and clench his fists hard enough to draw blood from his growing claws. "No… no… not again," he grumbled. As his composure returned, the changed body parts began to revert to their original states. Halfway across the town, Andrew continued to soar towards the finish line, until a blaring siren filled the air.

"What is-" He began, but was cut off as the air around him began to heat up at a rapid pace. He glanced down and his eyes widened as he saw the mannequins starting to melt. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as several houses caught fire, the glass of their windows shattered. Below him, Narruk, freed from the gravity by Andrew's momentary distraction, hopped from foot to foot as the asphalt burned through his sneakers. ' _What the fu-'_ All cognitive thought stopped as the streets cracked and spewed forth fire.

"Are they trying to kill us?" Narruk murmured in shock as he sprinted towards a nearby house, feeling his skin starting to tingle. ' _That's gonna be a really bad sunburn.'_ Not a moment too soon, the wolf-boy leaped into the house and slammed the door shut behind him as the street quite literally exploded. Great plumes of fire shot into the air, giving Andrew a very intense workout as he had to dip, duck, dive, and dodge each and everyone that came his way.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Well… that's intense," Igor chuckled as he watched the first quarter of the course split by fire. Beside him, Derrick leaned forward in his seat and watched two of the screens intensely. "I'm guessing this is your addition to the Relay?"

"Mhm," the teacher answered simply, not taking his eyes off of his students.

"Modelled after the Yonkers Incident, I assume?"

"Figured if our enemy was capable of something like that, our students have to be ready for it. Nevertheless… I'm glad that it was these two that decided to take this course. Other than Lyon and Clara, they've got the most potential for greatness," Derrick responded, leaning back as he saw Andrew narrowly avoid another blast of fire and continue his slow trip towards the finish line, while Narruk, who seemed to have figured out the trick, ran along the backsides of the houses, avoiding the fire in its entirety. "Narruk has some hangups about his Quirk, but even holding back he is extremely strong. That's the Abrams' kid, though he inherited his grandmother's Quirk. He's… a bit like his mother."

"Stiff as a board with high aspirations?" Igor said snarkily, a wide smile overtaking his expression. Derrick nodded and turned his attention back to the carnage unfolding before him.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Narruk scowled as he dodged another piece of burning rubble falling from the sky. For a while, it had seemed as if he would completely avoid everything happening on the other side of the house, but then things had started to fall on his head. ' _Just my damn luck. I swear I'm gonna rip Mr. Holl's ugly head off.'_ The wolf-boy rounded a corner just as the rock wall came into view but was forced to stop as Andrew slammed into the ground in front of him. His costume was covered in scorch marks and his hair seemed to be smoldering as he got back to his feet. "You look like hell," Narruk said off-handedly, only to grunt as the boy raised a hand and increased gravity around him. ' _Not this again.'_

"I'll… I'll lift it as… soon as I finish," Andrew sputtered, clearly short on breath. ' _Crap, I'm nearing my limit. Can't waste any more time,'_ he thought and turned to limp towards the climbing wall. He only made it about ten yards before he noticed something coming up behind him and turned just in time to block Narruk's punch with his forearm. "What?"

"You're definitely weakening. That makes this easier," the brunet growled as he lifted his leg and swept it in an arc, knocking Andrew's own out from under him. The Gravity Quirk user groaned as he landed hard on his back. The boy again raised his hand and mustered enough force to cause Narruk to take a few steps back, during which he jumped back to his feet and charged. Using his Quirk to speed up his own strike, Andrew's fist connected with the wolf-boy's cheek. To his shock, however, Narruk took the hit in stride and snarled as he thrust his foot into his opponent's stomach, knocking Andrew back. Both boys took a brief moment to catch their breath before rushing at one another again.

The melee continued for several moments before Narruk started to get the upper hand. A combination of exhaustion from his previous endeavor and the pure ferocity of his opponent's fighting style had Andrew losing ground extremely quickly. In a last-ditch attempt, the Gravity Quirk user readied himself as Narruk stormed towards him again and, using the last bit of his strength, used his Quirk to leap over the wolf-boy. Mid-flip, he managed to grab onto Narruk's arm and, as soon as he landed, flipped his opponent over his shoulder, sending him hard into the ground. Almost immediately, he noticed something different about his classmate. His skin seemed to be rippling and the hair on his arms and head was growing longer and shaggier.

As his opponent watched in bemusement, Narruk struggled to regain his composure. He once again drew blood as his claws dug into his palms, but even the pain wasn't enough. Agony coursed through him as he tried desperately to hold back the wolf. He could feel it, the primal presence that usually lied dormant in his mind but now rushed towards the forefront. Memories he'd long since tried his best to forget surged past. A girl with honey blond hair, a run-down shack on fire, a boy with brown hair and a cruel smile… a solitary grave in the middle of a field. "NO!" He roared, clutching his head.

"Narruk? What the hell's happening?" Andrew demanded, kneeling beside his friend, who's head whipped up at the sound of his voice. A chill went down Andrew's spine as he saw the pain, somewhat feral look in Narruk's amber colored eyes. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the wolf-boy collapsed forward, breathing heavily and completely exhausted, muttering something too quietly for Andrew to hear until he spoke a bit louder.

"Surrender… I yield," Narruk stammered, his face pale and clammy.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"With Narruk's surrender, he will receive a two-minute penalty, so the final times are Narruk with eleven minutes and six seconds, while Andrew finishes with ten minutes thirty-nine seconds. Group two, you have four minutes to prepare," Derrick announced. Though he managed to keep any sign of it out of his voice, the teacher was slightly shaken.

"Lycanthrope, eh? Any relation to the Lupine Hero: Howl? I remember hearing Hughes complain about her tendencies of aggression around the full moon each month," Igor said, his right hand thoughtfully stroking his beard. Derrick heaved a deep breath and shook his head. He'd expected Narruk to have some difficulties today, but nothing of this extent. ' _I should have realized what a problem this would be. He even told me before the semester started that this could be an issue. Damnit, how the hell could I let this happen.'_ Seeing him stewing in his thoughts, Igor rolled his eyes and patted the younger man hard on the shoulder. "Don't take it so personally. It ended well, didn't it? No harm no foul."

"I knew he was having difficulties… I should have sat him out for the day."

"Bah! Do you think he'd have taken that sitting down? He's a teenager for heaven's sake! You know, the brats that are infamous for thinking they know better than adults, despite still being children? I guarantee Mondronen would have lost his mind if you'd tried to bench him for the day. He knew this was a possibility and participated anyway. The fault is not on you, ya hear?" Igor punctuated his speech with another hard slap to Derrick's shoulder, causing him to flinch and turn his head to glower at his boss. "I'm just saying you have to stop blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. You won't be able to progress as a teacher or a person if you continue to do so. Lighten up!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Tch, pathetic. Moron can't even control his own Quirk," Clara scowled as she watched her classmate writhe on the ground. From beside her came a thoughtful hum, which only furthered her bad mood. She whipped around and got right into the face of her opponent. "You got something to say, Fire Idiot?"

"Oh? I see I'm no longer 'Flame Brain'. What brought about the change in my nickname?" Lyon asked innocently.

"By calling you 'Flame Brain' I was admitting you may not be a complete and utter waste of oxygen, but you've proved that wrong today. Therefore… Flame Idiot." The orange-haired boy tilted his head to the side and knit his brow.

"I see. Perhaps I should give you a nickname then? Hm, maybe 'Angry Yelling Girl'? No, that doesn't have a good ring to it. Ah, how about 'Yelling Angry Girl'?"

"That's the same thing, shithead!" Clara bellowed. ' _Why the hell is this idiot so clingy? No one else in the class is constantly following me around like a lost puppy. Doesn't he realize I wanna be left alone?'_

"Oh… yes, I believe you're right. Give me some time to think about it and I will give you the best nickname that fits your personality," he declared confidently.

"I don't want you to think on it, Flame Idiot!"

"I thought it was 'Fire Idiot'."

"PISS OFF!" Silence fell after her most recent shout, something Clara was all too happy about as she looked towards the metal door that led to the course. ' _I'm going to need to be careful here. Judging from his Quirk, he has to have some sort of fire resistance, but the real question I have to be on the lookout for is if it extends to something like lava. I was skeptical that it was going to be real but after the fireworks in that last match I have to assume it is. There might be some trick to it though. This is the first starting area I've seen have no clear view of the course ahead. Then there's Fire Idiot to worry about. As much as I hate to admit it… he is stronger than I am… and smarter. I have to hope he screws up somehow or that I can get him off his game. In any case, I have to win this,'_ she decided, her muscles tensing as their teacher announced the previous scores.

"Hey, Clara… if it isn't too much trouble, I have a question," Lyon said suddenly, breaking the magenta-haired girl's concentration.

"It's too much trouble," she replied hotly. Appearing to not have heard her, the orange-haired boy continued.

"Your father… he is one of the top Heroes in the country, yes? Why do you seem to get angry whenever he is brought up?" He asked. Almost immediately, Clara's posture became as stiff as a board.

"You… are treading… on _very_ thin ice, MacAllister," she snarled, not even turning to face him.

"Perhaps there is lingering jealousy? Or Maybe some hidden desire to surpass him, though you're unsure if you can? It's fascinating to me how you can look upon a parental figure with such distaste, especially when he is considered one of the most morally sound Heroes of the top ten," he proceeded, completely oblivious to the girl beside him, who had begun shaking in anger.

"I swear… if you don't shut your fucking mouth this instant, I'll make good on my promise from earlier and if you _ever_ bring that bastard up around me again I will break every bone in your body. Do. You. Understand?"

" _Alright! The time for planning is over, let the second section begin!"_ Mr. Holl called over the intercom, interrupting their conversation. Her anger was momentarily forgotten as a wave of heat stung her eyes. The metal door had opened, unnoticed, during their conversation. The two students raced towards the new opening and came face to face with a literal fast-flowing river of lava. Clara quickly scanned the river, looking for any way across, and her eyes fell on a series of rocks, placed anywhere from two to four meters apart from one another.

"You have got to be shitting me."

"Hm, well… this is quite the dilemma," Lyon agreed, eyeing the rocks warily.

"What? Not up for a swim, Fire Idiot?" Clara barked.

"Fire and lava are two very different things, Angry Girl. It would appear, on first glance, that our only way across is an obstacle course. Now, I am willing to be a gentleman and-"

"HOWL MISSILE!" Clara screamed. The condensed wave of sound threw Lyon back into the waiting area and slamming into a column, which brought a small smile to his opponent's face. "Take a nap, Fire Idiot."

"That… was uncalled for," Lyon groaned as he struggled to sit up. As he went to stand, he found his balance had left him and he crashed back to the floor. Meanwhile, Clara glared at the series of stepping stones before her. She took a deep breath, something that only succeeded in delaying her progress as her lungs filled with ash, and leaped to the first rock. She landed precariously but managed to right herself and make the next jump. ' _These are a lot smaller than I first thought. I'm definitely going to need a new pair of boots after this.'_ As she settled on the third rock, a snapping sound drew her attention away from her progress across the river.

"Damn you!" She cried as she ducked to avoid a blast of orange flames in the shape of a spear that flew over her head. Standing just one rock behind her was Lyon, smiling. ' _How didn't I hear him coming? Better question, how is he already on his feet? That blast should have incapacitated him for at least five minutes. Just my luck,'_ she lamented as the spear turned in mid-air and dove back towards her. She swore and sucked in another breath before unleashing a devastating wave of sound. The shockwave created by her Howl Bazooka pushed the lava beneath them back and nearly threw Lyon off his perch.

"My, my… this is getting interesting, now isn't it?" The orange-haired boy said as he righted himself. Raising one of his hand and placing the black surfaces of his index finger and thumb together, he snapped again. This time, the small spark generated by the action grew into a massive fireball above his head. The fire swirled like a hurricane as Lyon made a similar motion with his finger before he waved his hand lazily in Clara's direction and the fire surged towards her.

"SHRED HOWLER!" The girl countered. Unlike her previous abilites, this one created a very visible crescent of vibrating energy to go along with the thunderclap-like sound, which flew through the air directly at the wave of fire. For a brief moment, time seemed to slow down as the two attacks met and, subsequently, exploded, sending fire and lava flying in every direction. As the flames cleared, Lyon and Clara locked eyes and both smiled. "I'm gonna enjoy tearing that smile off your face."

"And I will enjoy seeing you try."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **So as I said above, I'm not 100% about this chapter. I don't normally ask for reviews, but if any of you spot anything wrong with this chapter please, please let me know so I can fix it. I really don't like giving the like 60 of you that read this regularly a bad product. I honestly didn't want to post this until it was beta'd, but it's been nearly two weeks since my last update and I would feel horrible if I made you wait another. Okay, on to the preview!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 21: Brain over Brawn**


	22. Chapter 21: Battle End

**Holy hell it's been a minute, eh guys? Well, here is the exciting conclusion to the Relay Race of Death Arc (Name not set in stone)... But first announcements.**

 **At the urging of the Discord peoples, I have set up a community for omakes and short stories written you guys based on this story. I'm giving you all free reign over what, if anything, you want to write. If anyone does end up doing this, just shoot me a PM with the link you your story and I will add it to the community.**

 **Also, also, Join the Discord! It's really lively and the people there have given me some absolutely incredible ideas. Uh… we also have some NSFW drawings and a story (that I will** _ **not**_ **be posting on here) if that interests you.**

 **As always, thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing and not murdering me for deleting my first horrible draft of this chapter. This chapter is also the longest to date! Oh, and a special shout out to ThalioTP and Cyber Taco for their contributions to the community! And Thalio, again, StrifeStellar Mizo, and Mish (sorry I don't remember your fanfiction username) among others for the artwork they've done for this story so far.**

 **Friendly reminder that Pro Hero, Upperclassman, and Villain OCs can still be submitted. And also, a question: Am I supposed to put a disclaimer at the bottom of my AN's? I've seen so many others do it and don't know if it's required or not.**

 **Uh, I think that's it. I hope you guys enjoy and by now you know how to contact me. Have a good weekend!**

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Physically you're fine, Mr. Mondronen," Leena Holl stated as she examined his exposed back with practiced movements. After his surrender against Andrew, Narruk had been dragged away from the viewing room at the insistence of two little dwarf-like creatures, barely tall enough to reach his waist, with snowy white hair and pale blind eyes who'd brought him to the infirmary where an irate looking nurse awaited him. "Just a few minor cuts and burns. What I am really concerned about is your mental state. Exactly how long has it been?"

"Nearly two years," the brunet replied miserably. The nurse pursed her lips and passed him a clean white shirt to replace the charred one he'd arrived in. ' _I should've forfeited earlier. I knew something like this would happen with it being so close to the full moon. Damnit Narruk, you never learn, do you? How many lives is your damned ego worth?'_

"-dronen?" The wolf-boy's head shot up as his self-loathing train of thought was derailed. Nurse Holl was looking at him expectantly, obviously awaiting his answer.

"Sorry, zoned out there. What's up?"

"I asked how this past cycle went? I heard from… your teacher that you skipped your usual spar with Andrew that day." Despite the context of the question, Narruk couldn't help but smile. Whenever Mr. Holl was doing something to upset his wife, which was quite often by Narruk's estimate, he would become some variant of 'Mr. Holl', while when on good terms she'd call him by his real name.

"Well, shaking off Andrew was the hardest part. Other than that I just locked myself in my room all day and took some sleeping pills at dusk. The stiffness and irritability have been… worse than usual," he explained. Mrs. Holl nodded and jotted something down on her clipboard.

"Holding back the full power of your Quirk is starting to wear on your body. You need to find some sort of release. We have a counselor here that could be able to help you."

"I'll think about it," he responded briefly, causing Mrs. Holl to sigh and rise from her stool at the side of his bed.

"Alright, I'll be back in a little bit once my Quirk wears off. Until then, just relax and perhaps try to get some sleep," she commanded before exiting the curtained off square surrounding his bed. As her footsteps faded away, towards where he knew Marcus was lying unconscious, Narruk let out a low growl and his grip tightened on the sterile white sheets of the infirmary cot.

"Damnit."

"Language." The sound of a second voice caused his head to whip up and stare in slight shock at the ghostly visage of Melody's Wraith. ' _I didn't even hear her coming,'_ he noted. The second the redhead returned to her normal state, his nose was assaulted with a myriad of scents that weren't there a moment ago. Polished wood, smoke, the faint smell of mint ' _Is she using Kira's shampoo?',_ and fresh blood; that particular one made his stomach crawl.

"You okay?" He quickly asked, causing Melody to raise an eyebrow.

"Asks the guy lying in a hospital bed," she said snarkily. When the wolf-boy continued to look at her inquisitively, she sighed, turned and lifted up her shirt, showing off her bare back that was covered in small, bleeding scratch marks.

"Things get freaky in the girl's dorm, huh?"

"Oh shut it, these are from Epiphany. I can see that smirk, Narruk. They're from her Quirk," the redhead scowled, letting her shirt fall back into position before turning to glare at the wolf. Narruk grinned and immediately shot back another mocking response.

"Kinky."

"There's literally no way to explain this without it being misconstrued is there?" She groaned. "Ugh, whatever. My wounds reopened after Sirius tripped and knocked me over, so I need Mrs. Holl to stitch me back up. Then I heard your voice and decided to check on you."

"I'm fine," Narruk said too quickly, immediately wincing at the withering look his classmate gave him. With a frown, he leaned back against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. ' _It's your own fault for telling her about your Quirk,'_ a part of his brain reminded him. "Not fine then."

"Clearly," Melody retorted dryly, though her tone softened when she spoke again. "Everyone's worried about you."

"Worried I might maul them, maybe," Narruk said under his breath. Obviously, he was not as discrete as he'd thought, because Melody reached over and chopped him on the head without putting much force behind it.

"You're an idiot. I know we haven't been friends for long but that doesn't mean I, or the rest of the class for that matter, don't care about you. I would have been here even sooner but I had to tell Kira and even Alex that you probably weren't in the best of moods," she explained, getting a skeptical look from the wolf-boy.

"I thought you said you came to get stitched up?"

"That was the deal breaker. While we were arguing, Sirius tried to get closer so he could be involved but tripped and knocked into me. Since I was already coming here, well… I could make sure you were okay." Despite his rotten mood, Narruk tilted his head down to hide the smile fighting to break free on his face.

"Thanks, I suppose."

"Don't feel too special. I'm supposed to see how Andrew and Marcus are as well. You were just the closest one," Melody said haughtily. For a moment, the small curtained off square fell silent, until Melody held up her left wrist, showing Narruk a very nasty looking scar stretching across her wrist.

"Don't tell me Epiphany did that?" He inquired, his eyes locked on the girl's arm.

"No, this happened when I was five. Around the time my mom died and I manifested my Quirk if I remember correctly," she said casually, though Narruk could tell by the look in her eye that she remembered the event with perfect clarity. "I was testing out the limits of my Quirk, which weren't a fraction of what they are today. It was incredibly hard to control. Whenever I entered my Wraith form it was a constant struggle between my two states for dominance. Back then I could only hold it for a few seconds, which… well, which almost cost me my dream of being a Hero."

"What happened?" Narruk asked with a bemused expression. Melody grimaced and clenched the fist she held aloft.

"Well, have you heard of the Rebuilding Hero: Construct?"

"Yeah, he was ranked like fifteenth years ago. He could rebuild or reattach anything… Wait, are you saying-?" Melody looked down sadly and ran the index finger of her right hand over the scar.

"My Quirk nearly cost me my hand. I was hanging out with Nathan and a few other kids. One of them dared me to shift states, 'Go Ghost' is what they called it, and try to steal some comic books through a closed window. Well, I tried and my Quirk failed when I tried to bring the comic back out. There's a pretty good reason why I tend to primarily use my right hand in fights. The left one is… well, kind of screwed up as you can see."

"I'm sorry to hear about that, Melody. Though I'm not sure why you'd be giving me your biggest weakness," Narruk replied with a wolfish grin. The redhead chuckled and smacked his foot before her mood turned somber again.

"After that day, I didn't use my Quirk for three years. I was scared that I would get hurt again. I thought my future as a Hero was over before it'd begun. I've got an idea of what you're going through. Probably better than anyone else, even if you won't tell me why," she finished with a pointed glare at the scarred boy, who rolled his eyes and rested his head against the plaster wall behind him.

"Maybe another time," he said simply. ' _I'm not ready for that.'_

"Why?" She asked, and for the life of him, Narruk couldn't help but answer honestly.

"I'm afraid. That you and everyone else will see me in a different light." To his surprise, Melody beamed at him and stood up. She walked to the curtain and pulled it back before looking back over her shoulder.

"It's okay to be. Everyone's afraid of something, but if we face our fears and overcome them… well, then we prove to ourselves and everyone else that we _can_ be Heroes. Now, I've gotta go check on the others. Get some sleep, you never want to make a nurse angry. They have access to needles!" The redhead said cheerily before exiting. Narruk just snickered and shook his head as he listened to her footsteps getting further away.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Losing steam, Angry Girl?"

"HOWL MISSILE!" Lyon grimaced as the blast of sound hit him like a freight train, nearly sending him plunging into the bubbling lava river below. At the very last second, the pyromaniac righted himself and raised his left hand, snapping his fingers and releasing another barrage of spear-shaped flames. Clara glared at the boy and inhaled again, this time her scream was more widespread and easily broke through the flames, though the aftermath left her throat feeling particularly raw. ' _I've gotta finish this quickly. This bastard is tough, but he's holding back. I can use that to my advantage… and kick his ass for pulling his punches,'_ she silently decided before leaping to the next rock. Now she was just two more good jumps away from hitting the opposite bank of the river. "I thought you were supposed to be the strongest in the class but that's all bullshit. You're weaker than Halloway!"

"Am I? Hm, perhaps I should ask her for a spar in the future." Seeing her attempted taunt fall flat, Clara lowered her head and aimed her next attack at a spot roughly ten feet in front of her. ' _Eat this, asshole.'_

"Howl Bazooka!" Despite the literal wave of molten lava now surging at him, Lyon grinned and lowered himself into a crouch. Using his flames as propulsion, the boy launched himself into the air, above the river and landed on the rock just in front of Clara, whose eyes widened in shock. She started to inhale for a close-range strike but her opponent put a quick stop to that with an uppercut to the magenta-haired girl's chin. Her teeth clicked together uncomfortably and, for a brief moment, she found herself free-falling to her certain death by liquid fire until a strong hand gripped her wrist.

"Okay there, Angry Girl?" Lyon asked snarkily, though his smile wavered when he saw the malicious smirk on Clara's face. The girl quickly used her savior to regain her footing and close the short distance between the two, slamming her forehead into his and quickly leaving Lyon in the exact predicament he'd just saved Clara from and, just like he'd done, she grabbed his wrist before he hit the boiling surface, though she definitely let him fall further than he had, resulting in his hair getting singed. Still gripping his wrist, his foe turned her body and used the momentum to toss Lyon into a nearby stalagmite, which cracked under the force. The orange-haired boy's smile returned as he wiped a thin trail of blood off of his forehead. "Damn, you're quite the brute, Angry Girl."

"Sounds like you're prepared to finally take this serious, huh?" If it were anyone else, the feral grin on her face would have sent chills of fear down their spine. Lyon, however, merely met her smirk with his own, a hitherto unseen determination in his eyes. The staredown lasted only for a moment before each side attacked. Lyon snapped his fingers, while Clara unleashed a devastating blast of sound that ripped apart the river and sent lava flying around it. For the first time, Clara's Howl broke through Lyon's flame and would have slammed into the orange-haired boy had he not snapped again and created a wall of fire. "I am _so_ gonna enjoy this."

"This is a race, is it not? Your team is behind, don't you want to get a better time than me?"

"To hell with the race! I haven't had this much fun in years!" Clara bellowed and leaped across the gap with her fist drawn back. She didn't even flinch when her fist connected with the already cracked stone, causing it to shatter, and instead raised her other arm to block Lyon's strike. Before she could retaliate, the boy slammed his knee into her gut, making her grit her teeth to hold back the bile. "FUCK!" She roared and wrapped one of her arms around his leg and twisted it hard at an odd angle. This, of course, only gained her a pained grimace and a punch to the back of her head.

Lyon jumped from the stalagmite to a rather large rock and snapped his fingers again, only this time the fire didn't immediately charge at Clara, as she expected it to. At that moment, she could simply watch in confusion as her opponent's attack turned back on him and went straight into his open mouth. The orange-haired boy swallowed and, through his costume, a white light shone from his stomach.

For a moment, the only sound was the bubbling of the lava below but then, as Clara was preparing to charge, a thin stream of fire emerged from his mouth and began to accumulate into a massive fireball of pure white flames that caused the rocks, his clothes, and Clara, who was nearly ten meters away, to begin smoking. The magenta-haired girl winced as her skin began to burn and, rather worryingly, her sweat began to evaporate. ' _So this is his power? Heh, interesting. I'll probably rip my throat a new one with this but it's the only way I can counter him. This battle is ending way too soon, it's been a while since someone pushed me this far.'_

"HOWLING THUNDER!" In her loudest scream yet, Clara's voice seemed to solidify into a solid sphere of energy above her head. Within the ball, her voice started vibrating the very particles in the air to create very visible sparks. Lyon's eyes widened slightly before he made a pushing motion with his free hand, his other was busy holding the fireball together, toward Clara.

"Greater Pyroblast." The massive ball of white flames soared through the air with the force of a bullet until it made contact with Clara's 'Howling Thunder'. The instant the two attacks came into contact with one another, the explosion shook the entirety of the underground training facilities, as well as its neighboring caverns and even the school grounds above. In its epicenter, Clara and Lyon were both assaulted with whipping flares and flashes of lightning caused by the combined final attack. Shockingly enough, the river below them stayed completely calm, as if held down by an invisible force. Just as soon as it had begun the explosion ceased and in its aftermath, a thick blanket of smoke concealed the competitors for several long minutes before the majority of it rose to the high ceiling of the training center. Lyon was the first to become uncovered, his costume in tatters, his hair standing partially on end, and his body as a whole covered in soot and scorch marks. Nevertheless, his trademark grin still creased his ash-covered face. "I-Impressive… Clara. Quite the show."

"Pi-piss off. Lyon, you… fuck," Clara huffed as her form became visible from within the smoke. She was in just as bad shape as Lyon, though she had quite a few more burns and… a lot less covering her dignity. Unlike her male counterpart, whose costume was just a normal pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with a fire retardant navy-blue trenchcoat, Clara's consisted of a black brassiere partially covered with a fur-lined coat. After the explosion, however, much of the jacket had burned away, leaving her in only the brassiere, not that she seemed to notice nor care if she did. "I am… not done yet."

"Ahem… you, uh… Angry Girl… um, you're missing, uh," Lyon sputtered, his face beet red. The Howl Quirk user blinked in confusion at his sudden change in demeanor before glancing down and noticing her current state of dress. ' _Well… never would have pegged him as a prude... Hold on, I can use this,'_ she thought, examining her opponent, who'd completely turned his head in another direction. She inhaled softly in preparation for an offensive but only managed to cough up blood due to the abhorrent state of her throat after 'Howling Thunder'. ' _Sonofabitch! I knew that was a bad idea. Screw it, I can't let him recover. Better to just use this opportunity to finish the race… as much as I hate the idea, I can't fight in this state much longer.'_

"AH! PERVERT, DON'T YOU DARE LOOK!" She roared in mock outrage, grinning as he turned even further away. ' _Too easy,'_ she snorted and started leaping rock to rock towards the opposite bank. As her feet met black sand, she sighed and glanced back at Lyon, who still stood on his rock with his eyes squeezed shut. ' _What an idiot… a strong idiot, but an idiot all the same.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Well… that was anti-climatic," Oliver murmured as Mr. Holl announced the final times. Clara had finished with twelve minutes and two seconds, while Lyon got fourteen minutes and fifty-two seconds. He heard an amused chuckle and craned his head back over the back of his chair to see Rylee standing across the room with an amused expression on her face. While she was facing away, looking at one of the video screens, the black-haired boy knew she was listening. ' _Alright, from what I can gather this is another maze… wonderful, I didn't get enough of the last one. Less conventional too, since it seems to be based on alleyways in a big city. With his injuries, Marcus is still most likely in the infirmary so I won't have to suffer in training tomorrow for not trying. Gotta stay away from Steam girl though. Heat and moisture are not good for my skin, which would just make things more troublesome. Alright, my best strategy is to hope she doesn't try to attack me right out of the gate and split off at the first available turn. If I hit a dead end, then oh well I put_ some _effort into it. If I find the exit…'_ He rolled his eyes at the thought. With a decent plan in mind, Oliver leaned back in his seat and gazed at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Rylee snuck glances at her opponent from the corner of her peripheral vision. The black-haired boy had made exactly zero attempts to talk to her or get into her head in any way, which was fine by her. The almost indifferent look he wore whenever she caught a peek of his narrow face was another matter entirely. ' _I should be able to take him down if need be. My Quirk counters his pretty effectively and… it doesn't really seem as if he's enthusiastic about this.'_ She gave her opponent, who yawned and continued to stare at the ceiling, a flat look before shaking her head. Suddenly, a sound like a boulder rolling down a hill emanated from the hallway leading back to the observation area and an extra crispy looking Clara barged in, stopped and appeared to glare at the room itself.

"Must've taken a wrong turn. Damned Fire Idiot, I blame him for making me go all out. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT STRING BEAN?" She roared when she saw the disgusted look Oliver was giving her. Rylee winced and moved as far away from the duo as possible, determined to not get in her way.

"You're at a fifteen. Get down to a reasonable five or six and then we can talk… or better yet, how about going down to zero?" Oliver said, his tone bored, though Clara noticed a slight tenseness in his body. ' _Rubber boy gets tense too, huh? All sorts of surprises today,'_ she thought before turning to grab the back of the boy's chair and swiftly tipping it forward. The black-haired boy made a strangled yelp as he was unceremoniously deposited on the hard metal floor before glowering at the towering Clara standing over him.

"Got any more snarky remarks, smart ass?"

"How much time you got?" The magenta-haired girl snorted and reached down to grab the scruff of Oliver's shirt, not giving him any time to react. To his and Rylee's surprise, instead of throwing him as both had expected, Clara placed him back on his feet and smirked.

"Cute. Now, I can tell just by looking at you that you don't care about this exercise, am I right?" She demanded in a faux sweet tone that dripped with venom. Oliver scoffed and used his Quirk to lengthen his legs until he was almost nose to nose with Clara, whose grin only widened.

"And if I don't?" He asked challengingly. "It didn't sound like you particularly cared when you were fighting Lyon. In fact, you _clearly_ stated that you didn't."

"Oh trust me, I didn't. Then that Fire Idiot went and blew us up, so we didn't get to finish our fight. Therefore, I'm gonna make sure we win this whole damned thing. I managed to get us some time back after that useless wolf forfeited to Gravity Punk, so now you have to beat the everloving snot out of Steamy over there because I have about as much faith in Kazani as I do in the idea of world peace. So, if you go out there, dick around, and lose… I am going to rip you limb from limb and use those severed limbs to hold my homework together. Sound fair?" Oliver scowled and took a step back. ' _As much as I hate to admit it, I can't stand up to her. Why did I have to get put on_ her _team?'_

"Yeah, yeah my ears work. If you could keep your voice that low for, say, a week… I suppose I could actually try to win this," he relented. Pleased, Clara smirked and turned to walk towards the door she'd come through not two minutes prior. As she left, she gave Oliver one last piercing glare and then disappeared down the hall, her muffled curses aimed at 'Fire Idiot', 'Lazy Asshole' and 'Pussy Wolf' echoing in her wake. "She's quite pleasant."

"I'd hate to be on your team," Rylee said, her eyes still trained on the door as if she expected Clara to come back through and berate _her_ at any moment. Oliver ignored her comment and stood his chair back upright. Unfortunately, right as he sat down the intercom crackled to life with Mr. Holl's distorted voice.

" _Enough planning, let the third match begin!"_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Coming from a small town in Kansas, Rylee still wasn't quite used to the hectic layout of New York City. Why she had insisted upon taking this particular course when her teammate Lyle wanted it as well was beyond her. A possible mixture of curiosity and her need to prove herself, but whatever it was, she regretted it after only about five minutes running around the maze of alleyways. "Shit!" She cried as she reached yet another dead end and turned back. ' _I wonder how Oliver is doing. I haven't even seen him since the beginning of the maze. What if he's almost done?"_ She shook her head to clear it and quickly chose a different path when she arrived at the fork that had led her to two straight dead ends.

As she turned into the corridor, she, for perhaps the eight-time, cursed U.S.A.E.I. on their incessant realism in these courses. The passageways of the maze were filled with broken glass, trash, and a wide variety of odd odors. When she turned yet another corner at a full run, her feet slipped out from under her on some sticky, smelly substance that clung to the back of her jacket. "Gross," she muttered with a grimace. Once she got back to her feet, a feeling of dread filled her and she whipped around just in time to see a hand shooting at her from the darkness. Rylee instinctually rose her arms in an 'X' over her face but was again surprised when the hand wrapped tightly around her waist. Her brief hesitation allowed the fingers attached to it start to stretch and proceed to plug up five of the six dark holes that lined her collarbone. "What?"

"You took forever getting here, you know. Not from a big city?" A pair of yellow eyes inquired casually as Oliver emerged from the shadows of a sidepath Rylee hadn't even seen before. The black-haired boy clicked his tongue in thought before his left arm followed his right's lead and shot towards the blonde, who just barely managed to release a burst of steam from the only open pore she had left. The hot, humid fog hit Oliver directly in the face as his arm dipped and proceeded to clog up the holes on her calves. ' _Shit, this is bad,'_ Rylee thought in a panic. "That was simpler than I imagined. Now, I don't really want to hear Clara's voice again, since she annoys the hell outta me, so I'm gonna have to ask you to surrender."

"W-What? NO!" Rylee bellowed angrily, renewing her struggle to break free. Oliver hardly even blinked and tightened the grip he had around her waist, causing her to gasp. ' _Think Rylee, think!'_

"Come on, I haven't got all day. I actually agree with Clara that Kira will most likely end up making a fool of herself and costing us time, so I need all the time I can get."

"Go to hell," she growled in reply. Oliver's pale yellow eyes narrowed and his grip got even more oppressive but that's when Rylee got an idea. "You're pathetic, you know that?"

"What?" The black-haired boy demanded. Internally, Rylee cheered though she managed to keep her pained and angry facade in place.

"You really have to resort to such cowardly tactics? Are you really that afraid of what Clara will do to you?" Oliver's face grew several shades redder and his grip loosened a bit as he tried to reign in his temper. That's when Rylee made her move. She focused all her energy into the one open pore on her chest and released a pressurized burst of steam, much more powerful than the last one, straight into Oliver's face. The boy grunted as the hot air burned his skin which gave Rylee an opportunity to grab the fingers blocking her chest pores and rip them out, causing herself a small pinch of pain in the process. "Boiling Fog!"

"Fuck!" Oliver winced as his entire right hand and chest were doused with searing hot steam that forced him to remove his left hand from clogging the holes along Rylee's calf. Not even taking a moment to appreciate her good work, the Steam Quirk user bolted the opposite direction of the one she'd originally come from. Unfortunately, she didn't make it very far before her left leg was tugged out from beneath her, followed by the girl's entire body being strung upside down by her ankle. Pain flared in the appendage causing Rylee to yell out. "Not… letting you get away that easy."

"Let me down, you bastard!" The blonde roared, making Oliver wince as he walked past her with his left arm cradling his burnt right arm, which was still ten feet long and didn't look to be shrinking any time soon.

"Stay up there until someone comes to get you, got it?" Rylee cried in frustration as she attempted to free herself but only succeeded in hurting her ankle, which she was sure was strained if not broken, even more. Before Oliver could turn the corner, another idea blinked into existence in her mind and she grinned.

"I forfeit!" Oliver heard this and sighed in relief before leaning up against the wall of the alley, his arm still in pain.

" _Uh… okay, well then… Rylee Ingram has forfeited and taken the two-minute penalty… damnit, we did not think of this when we conceptualized this exercise did we?"_ Mr. Holl's voice froze Oliver in his tracks as he realized something.

"Don't tell me…"

" _So… uh, the match continues… I guess? How did we not see that was exploitable? Okay! For the final match, no forfeiting!'_

"GOD DAMN IT!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Pfft, that's amazing!" Lyle laughed as he watched Oliver finally reach the top and finish the maze… three minutes slower that Rylee's time _with_ the two-minute penalty for giving up. "Too bad Mr. Holl took that away. I'd have forfeited right from the start."

"Kinda odd they didn't see the potential problems with it, huh?" Kira added with a smile. During their time in the waiting room, the klutz and her opponent hadn't shied away from commenting on the other matches to one another and, to her surprise, the guy she'd pegged as shady and a loner was, in fact, a nice guy, once you got past the sarcasm anyway. He'd been one of the few people in her class, a list including Clara and Oliver, that she either hadn't interacted with much or had no intention to in the future. She'd never even been paired with him in sparring or on a group project, so really this was their first true meeting despite being in the same class for a month already.

"The idea occurred to me when Narruk first did it, but I thought 'nah, they'd have to have some sort of rule against that'. Guess even the country's best misses things sometimes." Kira grinned at that and continued going over her stretches. ' _From what I saw on the elevator ride down, it's just a big black surface of some kind. Gotta be prepared for anything. Even killer robots…'_ she thought. As no one had been seriously injured in the last match, the waiting time for hers was almost instantaneous. The second Mr. Holl gave them the go ahead, she and Lyle charged out of the waiting room and both nearly toppled over into the black top… which was, in reality, a massive hole she couldn't even see the bottom of. "Of course."

"I'm just lucky I didn't fall in," Kira muttered, feeling immensely relieved her clumsiness had some leniency on her. However, that relief soon vanished when she really took in the immenseness of the crevice before her. ' _Wow. That's intense,'_ she thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lyle walking to the edge of the pit. Once he got there, he observed for a moment before grinning at the extremely narrow ledge that went the length of the pit.

"Perfect," he murmured. ' _Kira won't be able to follow me this way. Her balance is absolutely abhorrent. I should be able to use this to get all the way across and, with luck, if she gets stuck for long enough they'll have to stop the match. All I have to do is… well, not fall to my death. Easy. Though, just to cover all my bases…'_ Lyle grinned and took a few tenuous steps onto the ledge before turning and aiming his hand at the very start of it. "Sorry, Kira. I'm not losing. Venom Magnum."

 **Lyle Wolfbane**

 **Quirk: Poison**

 **Lyle can create and secrete hundreds of different kinds of poisons from the pores in his skin.**

"Oh, come on!" Kira whined as a thick layer of viscous purple goo coated the first five feet of the ledge. Judging by the sizzling noise the rock made when it came in contact with the poison, the girl knew she wanted nothing to do with the substance. ' _Great, just great. Now I'm gonna lose and have to listen to Clara's stupid freaking complaining and probably go deaf again. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!'_ She glared at Lyle, whose back was turned to her, and stomped away from the ledge to check the other side of the pit for an identical structure… only there wasn't one. In frustration, Kira began kicking the ground and forming a small dust cloud. "GAH! You're! Making! Me! Kick! Dirt! NO! You know what? Screw this! You're not making a fool of me! Fiery Steps!"

Lyle glanced back as he heard the girls angry screams and was shocked when she leaped over the side of the cliff and slammed her heels together, creating a small explosion that propelled her into the air. "Oh you've gotta be shitting me-" the white-haired boy said as the girl inched closer to him with every click of her boots. Even when he doubled his speed and moved as fast as he possibly could while keeping his balance, she passed him in a matter of seconds. It was only when she was less than fifteen meters from the other side of the crevice that everything went wrong. Instead of clicking her heels together, Kira faltered and ended up just kicking herself in the shin, which while it did give her a slight boost, it also caused her to cry out in pain and lose her rhythm. Her eyes widened as she began to fall and even Lyle looked mortified. It was only when she reached a point in the air level with the ground on either side that she stopped… or rather slammed into something completely invisible and completely solid.

"What?" She grunted and shakily got to her feet. It took her and her opponent a moment to realize what had happened before Lyle tentatively stuck down one of his feet, almost as if he were testing the water's temperature in a pool, and felt a solid surface.

"Sonofabitch!" He bemoaned and took off running towards the other side just seconds after Kira. By the time he made it to the climbing wall, she was already halfway up, despite her aching leg. "Nasty Arrows!"

"Jerk!" Kira shouted as a hail of small, droplets of forest green poison splashed into the rocks around her. She managed to dodge a majority of them but somehow, perhaps just her bad luck rearing its ugly head once again, a single droplet hit a small cut on the back of her hand she'd gotten earlier in the climb. Almost immediately her entire left arm went slack. "What?"

"Sorry, Kazani! You lose!" Lyle called as he climbed past her, only to stop as her hand grabbed his leg and yanked hard, causing his grip to fail. For a moment, Lyle could only watch as Kira got further and further away from him, her feet exploding against each other like gunshots. "Fuck."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Alright, that was fun wasn't it?" Mr. Holl asked his assorted class, many of which were bandaged in some way or another. Marcus, Lyon, and Clara seemed to be in the worst shape of the bunch, but if he were being honest, Derrick considered this a massive success… despite the death glare from his wife. "So as for the final scores…. Eh, I lost track a while ago. No one fails except those who forfeited."

"Aw come on! I won!" Rylee cried indignantly.

"By losing," Derrick pointed out, which quickly silenced the teen. He cleared his throat and then gestured for Igor, who'd been hiding around a corner, to come forward. "Since you, all haven't formally been introduced… meet Principal Igor Fetisov."

"Da. How's it going, runts?" Igor bellowed, immediately drawing the attention of every student in the class, even the rowdier ones like Clara and Kira. Derrick could only chuckle in amusement. ' _He's always had that commanding voice. The only reason he' principal is his leadership ability. Other than that he is more unqualified than I am.'_ When silence reigned, the elder coughed and waved his hand at the group of students. "At ease, hell. Uh, where to start? Oh, good job on the obstacle course… some of you did better than others but you've all got room for improvement. So… get better! Become good Heroes and get this school more funding! We're running out of money to maintain the animals."

"Animals?" Eris questioned. Igor stared at her for a moment before guffawing and shaking his head.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 **Okay, three battles and a secret meeting between Melody and Narruk to talk about unruly Quirks. It's been brought to my attention that this Arc has raised a ton of questions and hasn't answered any of those from before and I gotta say... I know. Let me know if there are questions you still have unanswered and I may be able to help, but for the most part… well, the answers are Spoilers.**

 **Two or three more chapters to cut off this Arc before we move into the tournament and the introduction of class FH1, so get excited about that. Okay, let's see that teaser.**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **Chapter 22: The Forge's Best**


	23. Chapter 22: The Forge's Best

**Heyo! What's good everyone. So uh, not much to say before this chapter. We only have one more chapter before we get into the Halloween Festival and two more until we get to the first battle. Uh, join the Discord and if you wanna check out the community just search for Purpose of a Hero. Uhh, OH! I know it isn't explicitely stated in this chapter but there is a reason it is called "The Forge's Best".**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **October 8, 2317**

Derrick Holl stormed through the halls of U.S.A.E.I in a rage, his eyes narrow and jaw set. Many of the students, shocked by the livid expression on his face, swiftly moved out of his way as he went deeper and deeper into the administrations building until he came to a dead end. However, instead of slowing his gait for even a moment, he instead pulled out a small keycard and flashed it in front of a solitary potted fern. Almost immediately the wall split apart, revealing a dark room and a dozen or more voices suddenly going quiet. The first people he noticed upon entering were Principal Fetisov and his fellow teacher, a man by the name of William Forrester, both of whom stared at him in shock. He ignored them and turned on the heel of his foot to face the twelve large television screens mounted on the far wall, each showing the image of a member of the North American Hero High Council. "What the hell is this?" Holl demanded as he slammed a manila envelope down on a nearby desk, resulting in a loud metallic clanging noise that caused several of the councilmen to flinch. One of the exceptions, an elderly man with thinning gray hair and sea-green eyes, smirked and leaned closer, making him appear more imposing.

"Ah, so good to see you again Ho-"

"Has the altitude started to mess with your minds at the top of the N.H.A. or are you all just naturally stupid?" Derrick growled, cutting Councilor Copley off. An uneasy silence filled the room as many of the council members looked at Holl with disdain, an expression he was all too happy to return. Unsurprisingly, it was Copley that was the first to speak up.

"I would lower your voice, Holl. Soundproofing only goes so far. Now, may I inquire as to why you are so… hostile, this morning?" Just the sound of the man's voice caused a new wave of anger to wash over Derrick. It took all of his willpower not to snap at the Councilor, who took this as a sign to continue. "I believe what you are referring to is our newest decree? Need I remind you that this council's decision is final?"

"I'm aware. It's still a stupid ass decision! This is absolutely insane! Do you have any idea how much danger you'd be putting the kids in?" He screamed. For an instant, invisible to most, Elliot Copley's grin became more malicious, his eyes harder, and his posture slightly straighter. In that instant, Derrick knew he was in the presence of Prophet.

"My my, so tenacious. Feeling guilty are we, Holl? Perhaps if you'd had that ferocity when you taught Zorra then she would still be alive," the Villain said, though he didn't for a second believe his own words. ' _No amount of training could have saved that girl. As much as I hate to admit it, Spitfire is indeed strong. Especially from this fool,'_ he thought, watching as the teacher attempted to get his emotions under control. "The world is changing, Holl. It's time we change too, don't you think?"

"They are _children_. I agreed with the clean up because I believed it would help them grow while being in no real danger, something I was proven wrong on. What you're suggesting is tantamount to throwing my students on the front lines."

"These children are living in a world where crime rates are the highest they've been in three decades. They would do well to learn by an accelerated syllabus. Have you forgotten your own school days? Your graduating class, in particular, was forced to learn the equivalent of four years at the Forge in just under two… and look how that turned out. Seventy percent of that year's graduating class dead before they hit forty. If I'm not mistaken, only you, Seismos, and Overgrown are the only ones remaining from the top ten, yes? There is an old saying: 'those that forget history are doomed to repeat it'."

"Are you listening to yourselves? These kids have been in school for barely a month. They are in no way, shape, or form ready for actual patrols!" Derrick countered. ' _Damnit, I need to calm down. I'm just playing into his hands by being this combative,'_ the blue-haired man realized and took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly thumping heart.

"Perhaps if you'd read the report fully you would have seen that we don't intend to push this through until after the Halloween Festival. Did you come right here after reading the first page, Holl? My, how… rash. Contrary to everything you've said since you arrived, we do in fact have the children's best interests at heart. However, with the times being as dangerous as they are, precautions must be taken. I would not at all be surprised to see the Black Order _target_ the next generation of Heroes. Take out a future problem before it actually becomes one, yes?" Even though his tone was pleasant, Derrick had to bite the inside of his lip when he heard the veiled threat.

"Right you are Copley," Head Councilor Grenier interjected, giving the elder a cold look, which he responded to with an apologetic grin. The severe-looking woman sighed and grabbed a stack of papers from the corner of her desk before looking back up at Principal Fetisov, who'd been largely quiet throughout the meeting. "As I was saying before we were interrupted. The pairings of upper and lower classmen will be decided by their homeroom teacher in the next week. Does this work with your schedule?"

"Hm? Oh… uh, yeah, yeah patrols, experience, all that, yup," he stammered, clearly having paid minimal attention. In a brief moment of levity, Derrick let a small smile grace his lips as the Head Councilor's right eye began to twitch in annoyance and her grip on the stack of papers became noticeably tighter. The rest of the meeting continued much the same as it had been before Holl's arrival. Grenier would spend a long while explaining certain aspects of the changes that would be made to security, lesson plans, and housing over the next few months, while Igor attempted - but failed - at keeping his attention anywhere other than the lazily spinning ceiling fan twenty-five meters above them. At one point, Derrick could have sworn he'd heard the man mutter something along the lines of 'seems pointless, doesn't it?' and had to fight back his amusement. A little less than half an hour later, Grenier made her closing remarks, gave Igor one last hateful glare, and then her screen went black. There was a general farewell given by the council members as each screen followed suit until just Copley remained. Feeling slightly apprehensive, Derrick glanced over his shoulder and nearly swore when he saw his boss leaving the room with half-lidded eyes. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. Damn fan made me tired."

"You've gotten better at holding your composure," Prophet droned as he intertwined his fingers and stared at the teacher. Derrick had no doubts; this was now the Villain talking, not the councilor.

"You didn't exactly make it easy. What the hell do you want?" Holl asked angrily, folding his arms over his chest. The Villain sneered at him as he pointed one of his boney fingers towards the chair Fetisov had been sitting in.

"Sit. We have a lot to discuss," Prophet said lightly as he levitated a cup of tea toward him from somewhere off-screen. Holl scowled and stood stubbornly. For a long while, there was no noise other than the distant squeak of the ceiling fan. As Derrick had no intention of breaking it himself, the silence lasted until the Villain had drained his entire teacup and set it down in front of him. "You surprised me today. I've never quite seen you defend your students with such zeal. I wonder… does the fact that this class is made up of the spawn of your former students have something to do with it?"

"Just what are you talking about now?" Holl said evenly, though he knew the man would see right through his lie.

"Now, now, no need to play coy. I must imagine it burns to be the last of your friend group to have not either died, lost their way, or become a complete pariah. What I want to know is which one hurts you the most. The Abrams boy? Does he know the part you played in his parent's death?"

"Shut up. Don't put the blood of your deeds onto my hands," Derrick snarled, baring his teeth ferally at the Villain, whose grin only got wider. In the back of his mind, which was becoming more and more clouded with anger, he began feeling a familiar twinge of pain as Prophet continued.

"Maybe Seismos' daughter? You knew the state his mind was in and yet you left her with him. Her childhood must've been hell. What with the beatings, that fiasco with her mother, the loneliness of having no one except your abuser." The teacher said nothing. There wasn't a thing he could say to counteract the man smiling evilly down at him. "Ah, no retaliation? Not going to deny the fact that you left a poor, defenseless girl in the hands of that monster?"

"Shut. Up," He retorted, though his tone was hollow.

"No. I know which one is the worst. Teardrop's spawn. Melody, was it? Tell me, do you think she would still respect and look upon you with admiration if she knew how you betr-"

"SHUT UP!" Derrick surged to his feet with fury in his eyes. However, those were the last words he got out as a searing pain rolled over him and fell to the hard marble floor, clutching his head tightly with both hands. The burning sensation crawling under his scalp nearly caused him to black out several times before his 'episode', as he'd grown accustomed to calling them, ended. While he tried to collect himself, he could hear only two sounds, his own heavy, labored breathing, and Prophet's malicious laughter.

"Still affecting you after all these years? Well, as fun as this was, tormenting you into a psychotic breakdown is not what I initially intended. In reality, I wanted to know how Rune is doing?"

Despite his lingering pain, Derrick struggled to his feet and glared at the monitor in response. "You're looking at me as if I've done something wrong. I thought it was standard protocol to inquire about one's only grandson."

"You've lost any right to call him that," Holl growled back.

"Oh, please. You talk as if you were any more virtuous than me, just because you took the boy before I could when his father died. You're just too afraid to admit that, when the time comes for him to choose a side, Rune is smart enough to choose his true family over the fake image of one you've tainted his mind with. He _will_ join us and serve Master Plague once the war starts," Prophet said confidently, casually glancing over a piece of paper on his desk.

"I-"

"Oops, would you look at the time? I really must be going, don't want to disappoint my master by not arriving on time. Until next time, yes? Oh, and please… give my regards to Leena. She is such a dear." The Villain gave him one last smug look before the screen faded to black. Finally alone, and a bit shaken by Prophet's final veiled threat, Derrick yelled in anguish and flipped one of the room's desks, sending its contents scattering across the floor.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Leena Holl sighed as she entered the rather large apartment she shared with her husband. It had been a rather long day for the school nurse, with two students from the same freshman class wounding themselves, the seniors had had a capture the flag game between classes - something that always resulted in a major amount of injuries - and the poor Halloway girl had come in several times complaining of migraines. She placed her medical bag on the table by the door and hung her keys on the leftmost hook. ' _Huh, usually Derrick is home by now. He probably just got held up by Igor asking him for a drink,'_ she theorized when she saw his own set of keys missing. As she went to walk down the hall toward the living room, she tripped, and nearly fell, on a pair of green and white sneakers sitting haphazardly in the middle of the floor. ' _Gah, really?_ _I'm gonna kill him. Every time he visits I tell him not to leave his shoes lying in the middle of the damn floor and every time he still does it. I swear, he and Derrick have got it out for me,'_ she thought, righting herself and stomping into the living room, only to stop at the odd, yet familiar sight before her. Every single item in the medium-sized room, from the flat screen to the pile of magazines that once sat on the coffee table, was hovering several feet above the ground. With a sigh, she glanced over to where the couch was floating just a few inches away from the ceiling, close enough that the nose of the teal haired boy sleeping on the airborne furniture was brushing against the rough surface with every inhale. "RUNE HOLL!"

"Whaa!" The boy gasped as the woman's shout woke him up. Still disoriented, he tried to raise his head but only succeeded in bashing it against the ceiling and crying out in pain. As he clutched his head, every single levitating item in the room came crashing to the floor, including the boy himself. "Wassat? Wh'appened?"

"Rune? Yes, over here. Tell me something… how many times have I told you not to leave your damned shoes in the middle of the hall?" Leena demanded, seemingly ignoring the widespread destruction of her home that had just occurred. Rune smiled sheepishly and hurried to his feet.

"Uh… well you see, I had a pretty tiring day at school, right? It's only the second month of school and we already had an exam from Mr. Forrester's class, which always sucks but this one, in particular, was brutal because it was all about pre-thirty-first amendment Quirk rights and you know how boring that subject is, yeah? Well anyway, I was trying to get some last minute studying done but then Dominick spooked Hector and caused his bees to form a swarm that just started stinging everyone. Oh, and these were _not_ normal bees. For one they could sting you as many times as they wanted without dying like the normal ones do, Hector said it had something to do with the acids inside of him fermenting the eggs differently or some weird shit like that, I dunno he's always been a bit odd. Anyway, the bees also had this annoying venom that sapped your energy, so everyone in the class - after we rallied up the bees of course - just kinda fell asleep at their desks but then we still had the test to take. Uh, I'd say all-in-all I'll be lucky to pass this one," Rune quickly explained, taking a few deep breaths for the ones he'd skipped whilst telling his tale. Leena gave him a blank stare for a few moments before rolling her eyes and beginning to make her way to the kitchen.

"Have you heard from Derrick at all?" She asked, opening the small refrigerator and pulling out a can of soda. Rune shrugged and started going about returning the room to its normal state. Almost as if on cue, the sound of the front door opening and someone walking down the hall was immediately followed by the entrance of a haggard-looking Derrick Holl, who tossed his briefcase onto the island separating the living room and kitchen. "Hey, you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah. Had a meeting with the council today. Speaking of which, I need a word with you, Rune.," Derrick said quickly as he grabbed the bemused boy by the arm and dragged him down the hall towards a quartet of shut doors. In just a moment's notice, they had retreated into the furthest one and slammed the door, leaving Leena standing alone. Her eye twitched as her gaze locked onto the door before she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Not even a 'how was your day, honey?' I mean really. Screw it, I'm ordering takeout for dinner," she grumbled and reached into her pocket to retrieve her cellphone. Meanwhile, Rune gulped and looked down at his hands as Derrick paced in front of his childhood bed, unused since the boy had moved into the dorms three years prior.

"You're serious? He thinks I'm gonna join him?" The teal-haired boy asked in a defiant voice. The elder Holl nodded but stayed silent, making Rune uneasy. ' _I haven't seen him this angry since I levitated our car over rush hour traffic. The old man must've really gone hard on him today. I swear, every time those two talk it wears on Derrick more and more. We have to stop him,'_ he silently decided and shot to his feet. "Alright, so we stop him! Let's tell the Heroes and police about him being a bad guy. Better yet, let's go and take him down ourselves! The two of us are more than a match for some old fart!"

"Absolutely not!" Derrick snapped, sending a heated glare in the boy's direction, instantly dissolving his bravado. As Rune sat back down on the bed, Derrick winced and took a seat next to him. "Sorry, kiddo. He's got me in a bind here. If we go and tell the Heroes, he _will_ kill Leena and my students _and_ convert you the hard way."

"What? We could send Overgrown and Crusader! Hell, send Aeroblast, they'd be able to take him out no problem!" Rune protested.

"No… they couldn't. I don't think there's a Hero alive today that could beat Prophet. All-Might would have been able to but… well, that's not an option anymore." The boy launched himself up and glared at his adoptive father, who looked back with empty eyes.

"Why are you so afraid of him? Are you just gonna roll over on your back and show your belly every single time he tells you to do something? What the hell have these past ten years been for, huh? No one is unbeatable so why does this guy turn you into such a pussy?" Rune demanded, unconsciously causing the objects in his room to lift into the air.

"He's the reason my Quirk is shot," Derrick replied, his voice barely above a whisper. Rune froze and unceremoniously sent everything his Quirk had been effecting crashing back to the floor.

"What?"

"It was... about a decade ago now. During the Battle of Las Vegas. I was one of the first responders on the scene after Vesuvius' attack and came face to face with him. Up until that point, I'd never met anyone who could match me in terms of progress with a Mental Quirk. Then Prophet came. He broke me, and here I am. Ten years later and I'm still trying to pick up the pieces. He killed so many people that day. All in the name of his master," Derrick explained with a sad smile as his eyes stared, unseeing, at the ugly neon green carpet, something Rune had found amusing when he was six.

"If he's so strong, why the hell does he follow… uh, what's his name? Seems like he should've taken over the world by now, yeah? I mean, if I had that type of power the first thing I'd do would is stick up the nearest burger place but… well, it seems like he has higher aspirations than dinner."

"Rune. You're rambling again," Derrick chuckled. ' _Plague is wrong. Rune is too much like his mother to ever turn evil. He doesn't have a bad bone in his body.'_

"Oh, sorry. Uh, anyway what else happened? What's the… decree thingy you mentioned? Does it have something to do with me? Or just, like, the students in general? It's not anything too bad right?"

"No. Actually, it's something you're going to enjoy. All students are being required to take a regular weekend patrol," Derrick said. Rune's eyes widened and he grinned before leaping into the air, letting out a 'whoop'.

"You're serious? Oh man, that is awesome! The Hero Council is good for something after all! Man, I can't wait! When does it start, huh? Oh! Do we get to patrol alongside _actual_ Heroes? Are we allowed to fight? This is the best thing to ever happen to me!" Rune cried happily, dancing in place as Derrick looked on with a disbelieving smile.

"Where the hell do you get that energy from? I'm gonna have to ask William to up your training. Seems like you've outgrown it already." Rune grimaced and waved his hand lazily at the elder Holl.

"Nah I just had a nap when I got here. That woke me right up! I was a damned mess when I left school, let me tell you that Forrester's exams are fucking brutal! Especially when you're pumped full of tiring bee venom. It's really off-putting."

 **Rune Holl**

 **His Quirk: Telekinesis**

 **Rune has the power to make things float with his mind. However, if he uses his Quirk too much in one day he will get extremely tired.**

"And to answer… one of your earlier questions, you're not gonna be working alongside real Heroes. I'm in charge of pairing the students up. Since you're a Junior, you're gonna be paired up with a Freshman. I wasn't supposed to reveal this until after the festival but you won't shut up about it otherwise. Your partner is going to be a girl named Melody Halloway." Rune's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Halloway? You mean like the pizza place Auntie Leena has been ordering from the past month?" The boy asked, to which Derrick nodded in affirmation. "Huh, so her dad is the one who owns it I'm guessing? I really hope she isn't like him. He's super~ intimidating. I mean, Dominick and I walked in there for lunch one day and there's this fucking giant tossing pizzas while simultaneously screaming his head off at this poor guy who was shedding these weird spine things. Then when we sat down and he came to take our order, he gave me this weird look like I was an old friend or something. Then, of course, I ordered the garlic twists, you know how much I love those, and Dominick orders the house special, which I ripped him about because honestly who the hell goes to a restaurant and orders the house special? I mean, even if you like it there's only like one day a week you can get it, y'know? Then when the food gets there, the house special is like… some messed up kinda pasta that this moron just starts slurping down even though it looks like the giant just cut the hairs off a broom, slapped some tomato sauce on them and called it pasta. The place is kinda weird too, I mean, I don't even remember the _building_ being there two months ago, let alone the business inside. Weird right?"

"Rune. You're doing it again."

"What? I'm just telling you what happened. That's not rambling, it's storytelling! There is a huge difference!" Rune said indignantly. Derrick sighed and shook his head before patting the boy on the shoulder, his expression turning serious.

"Can we get back to the topic at hand here?"

"So what was that again? I, um, kinda forgot. You know what with the, uh, storytelling " Rune replied timidly.

"Prophet seems to think you'll join him once the time comes. He believes you'll choose your true family and a life of servitude under Plague…" Derrick trailed off and appeared to be waging an internal battle with himself. The teal-haired boy frowned and turned his head to look out the small window at the silhouette of U.S.A.E.I. in the distance. ' _Jeez, I've never seen him like this. Having to juggle his family, teaching, and playing an unwilling double agent must be awful. There's gotta be something I ca-... wait! That's perfect, I could take the weight off his shoulders and turn the tables on the old man!'_

"Then I'll choose his side."

"W-What?" Derrick sputtered, looking completely and utterly confused. Despite the reaction of his father-figure, Rune's confidence in his plan grew and he smiled.

"Yeah, it's so obvious! I can play the double agent card!" He said cheerfully. The elder Holl stared at him for a moment before frowning and clenching his fists.

"It's too risky. For everyone involved. What happens if you're found out? They won't hesitate to kill you, family or not." Rune straightened and, for the first time, the smile left his face.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Think of how many innocent lives I can save by feeding the Heroes information. If I save even one life it's worth it." Derrick grit his teeth and, to the younger boy's surprise, tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.

"I promised your mother I'd look after you and keep you safe. That was her dying wish, damn it," Holl finally let out, grabbing the boy by his shoulders.

"I've got enough blood on my hands from the Black Order's victims, I don't need yours as well."

"Then I won't die," Rune replied, with no hint of hesitation. Before either man could say another word, the sound of the apartment's doorbell ringing cut them off. Almost as if the entire previous conversation had been wiped from his mind, the teal-haired boy grinned and rushed out of the room. "Wahoo! I am _starving_!"

"This kid," Derrick said sadly. ' _Caroll, you'd be so proud of him. Granted, you'd kick his ass for even thinking of sacrificing himself but proud nonetheless.'_ After taking another moment of silence, the teacher stood and smiled as he glanced around the room of the boy he'd raised. His chest swelling with pride, he walked out of the room to enjoy a dinner with his family.

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Well… lots of unanswered questions in this one, eh? It's early in the morning and I didn't get much sleep so I can't think of anything clever to say so let's just get into the teaser.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero!**

 **Chapter 23: Fire and Pizza**

 **Huh, that's certainly a… unique chapter title.**


	24. Chapter 23: Fire and Pizza (Part 1)

**Huh... Been a while, eh? Sorry about the near month between chapters guys but with my work moving into a new warehouse, things have been a bit hectic. Long hours, little sleep, health issues, the list goes on and on. Anyway, I won't bore you guys with the details of my life. Instead, have some details about these next 2 or 3 chapters.**

 **First off, last week I decided that if I ever wanted to get this chapter done, I'd have to take up the offer of someone on the discord and so, thank ThalioTP for writing this chapter and the following ones. I gave him the premise of what I wanted in the chapter and he went above and beyond, writing 4 times as much as the usual chapter. Since I didn't want to throw you guys off with the difference in length, I decided to split it up. And don't worry, all chapters from his monster will be updated quickly. Expect the next one tomorrow, and if needed, a third the day after that. I am going to _try_ and get the first chapter of the tournament out this weekend (not entirely sure if I'll have the time/energy). And don't worry guys, come late July-early August things will settle down again and I'll be back to 1 chapter a week.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy, again credit to Thalio for this chapter. You guys know how to contact me and if you're interested in diving deeper into this story, hop on the discord server. We've got fanart, sneak peeks into future chapters and random lore that will never be mentioned in the main story due to it either being just fun facts or not fitting the narrative. Alright, that's enough out of me. Have an awesome day dudes and dudettes!**

 **Edit 20 mins later: Shit almost forgot! I am still accepting OCs for Upperclassmen (important), Villains (more important), and Pro Heroes**

 **Purpose of a Hero**

Mornings usually didn't smell like burned meals and possibly dangerous smokes, but today it did. Everyone knew how dangerous an indoor fire was; the smell itself was still oozing in the hallway just outside. So, without any longer interruptions, the occupants of the USAEI Girl's Dorm knew to immediately gather outside of the dorms to avoid suffocating while sleeping on top of their own beds.

Fortunately for the girls, the upperclassman had one or two things to say about the whole ordeal. Partly because they themselves went through the same thing once in their lives… But mostly because they'd just been forcefully woken up from their sleep.

But, if it wasn't because of the smoke, it could be because of one Clara Ramirez stomping and yelling her lungs out.

"Great! Absolutely wonderful job, Kazani! I didn't know you were a complete screw up in the kitchen as well! The list of things you can do without utterly fucking up grows shorter by the day!" She roared. The others were more or less surprised at how she had so much energy to run around angrily in a circle this early in the morning, "And what the hell did the rest of you do? All of you just fucking stood by, watching this… this monumental fuck-up take place not five feet from the sofa! Fucking terrific, all of you. Hey, why not go ahead and fucking burn the whole school down while you're at it? Your fucking friends are obviously not going to stop you."

"Oh, give her a break, she obviously didn't mean to. Besides, other people are helping us fix it! Maybe you should try to do the same!" Melody Halloway snapped back, trying to comfort the girl in question, who was just hanging her head the lowest it could while her redheaded friend patted her on the shoulder.

"Oh, that's a great fucking idea. Throw all the goddamn bullshit that all of you did this year to me, why don't'cha? Yeah, that'll teach you something," Clara said with a demeaning tone, sarcastically waving her hands with exaggerated gestures.

"Nobody could've prevented what had happened!" Melody fought back, motioning the fire and the alarm, "It's a completely normal risk to have when you're cooking!"

"THE DISHWASHER GOT ON FIRE, HALLOWAY!" Clara jabbed her finger as hard as she could towards the source of the smoke, "Who the fuck can do that?!"

"It was an accident!" Kira shot up, her face restraining from crying with embarrassment.

"Yeah, well, you started this mess, you fucking fix it, you Flamin' Failure. Don't go crying on Crybaby's shoulder and throw all the goddamn mess to someone else," Clara glared in response, obviously not taking any excuses.

"Listen," Eris Blackwood said. She was also tending to Andi before letting herself get in between the argument, "If you don't want to be helpful here, then get out. It's better to have only one thing to worry about this morning without you running your potty mouth everywhere."

"Yeah, nobody asked you to be here," Rylee Ingram added into the conversation.

Scoffing at Eris' answer, she turned to Melody again, "What the fuck is this? Barbershop fucking quartet of fucking failures? Do you know what you all are? A bunch of fucking incompetent morons!" She said before leaning down to her height and glared, "This little fucking cookery of yours is just a drop in the Caspian Sea—the same Caspian Sea that, may I kindly fucking remind you, started the second you had the genius thought of attending this bloody school! Oh, and don't forget that it is still growing faster than the speed of bloody light! If anyone here thinks that they don't hold any ounce of responsibility to what the hell happened, then oh boy I have the morning scoop for you!

Melody was never the one to be moved by Clara Ramirez, she was used to people who had a mouthful like that. But the second the taller girl began jabbing her finger that Melody's chest, she realized how ticked off Clara must've been.

"You have presided over a shambolic… SHOWER OF FUCK-UPS! ' _Melody Halloway, singing in the rain_ '!" Clara gestured again, this time motioning some sort of fantastical sign on top of the redhead, before circling away towards the other side of the hallway, "The day you show me that you can at least cook something decent is the day I know I'm fucking dead an' went up to heaven, drinking wine with fucking Gordon fucking Ramsay. I'm fucking done with this. You idiots can go fuck yourselves, I'm going to the cafeteria. Cha'-cha', see you fucks later."

Complete and utter silence filled the hallway. Even the upperclassmen were taken aback, all of them must've heard the same thing.

"' _Flamin' Failure'_ ," Eris parroted the exact same statement the magenta-haired girl had said as the latter disappeared in the crowded hallway, "That's a new one."

Melody could only sigh. Clara was sort-of right, now that she thought about it. It must've taken a while for something burning that violently to spread, if Melody and the others paid more attention, then surely, they could've prevented it from getting worse. Then again, none of them could see this outcome coming, regardless of the fact that it was _Kira Kazani_ who was cooking breakfast.

"The fire's not settling down," An unamused Hazel Camellia Aria said as she poked her head from behind the doorframe of the girl's dorm room, who was followed by the scaly Diana Suharto, Epiphany the ghost girl, and other occupants of the dormitory who volunteered to help.

"We've stopped it from spreading any further, though," Diana the Komodo Dragon girl commented, before sneezing out her forked tongue, "This is really bad for my sense of smell…"

Epiphany was seemingly scorched from top to bottom when she came out from the dorm rooms, as her outfit was covered in soot as well as her hands. The others could only watch helplessly because they knew it wouldn't have hurt the ghost girl at all.

"Turns out I'm better at fightin' bad guys than fightin' fires," Epiphany whistled, looking at her blackened hands in awe. She had obviously gotten herself dirty while trying to handle the flames with her bare hands, "Who would've known."

"That's okay," Melody reassured her, before turning to another resident who was occupying the crowded hallway, "Thanks again for helping us, Sirius. Appreciated it."

The person in question was the only male in the building: Sirius Wilsk, also known infamously as the host of the ghost girl before them. Anyone had failed to notice how scared he must've been listening to Clara's angry rant, even though he was just right behind Melody all the time. Poor kid, he was almost on the verge of crying.

"I-it's fine… Epiphany's the one who urged me, anyway," The shorter boy replied sheepishly. He seemed to be the one who was the most worried about the situation, seemingly unwilling to be pulled into this incident, considering how he was still in his wrinkled bed attire.

"Well after Kazani practically ran across the yard, banged on our dorm's front door, and cried for any of us to help. We had to do _something_ ," Epiphany shrugged, shaking off the soot from her clothes, which only made more dust flying in the air. She doesn't seem to notice it, perhaps because she didn't need to breathe.

"The other boys were willing to help, too, you know…" Sirius told her. His attempt at scolding was unbearably pathetic.

Epiphany just gave her host a rather demeaning grin, showing that she was awfully being full of herself, "Yeah, you say that but you know you want to visit Miss Kazani's—"

"AAAAAAAHH!" Sirius' screamed suddenly with his face apparently flustered while waving his hand back and forth to land a hit on Epiphany, seemingly to shut her up, but the ghost girl had already poofed away into thin air with her last expression being a tongue stuck out at the boy.

With all the damage the kitchen fire had done, they had expected the effort of cleaning the rest of the dorms and preventing the spread to be quite the tough work. Lucky for them, calling for extra help yielded more preferable results. Melody would be lying if she hadn't said that she expected Kira to bring someone with the same elemental prowess of fire to help them. Then again, having an invincible phantom lady was good enough.

Other than that, it was good to know that the fire alarm seemed to be working in perfect conditions, knowing how it still refused to stop with just a small amount of smoke traces in the air. The ruckus that it made, as the sound echoed throughout the entire dorm building, seemed to have brought the attention of the students from the boy's dorm. Yet, that was the least concerning thing there was about this morning, specifically because Andi Ena—the girl born with a specialty just to be unlucky on this particular day—almost had vertigo from all the sirens blaring.

Finally, they called the school's officials, who responded that they would send two of their staff to clean up the mess when they got the confirmation that the occupants are safe. When the girls all finally settled down, the two school staff (or they assumed were staff; they looked more like middle-aged men being squashed down to the size of children, with white hair and pale eyes like trolls) immediately went to work to resolve the incident once and for all. When they settled that it was safe to investigate the aftermath, an upperclassman named Shaula, a young girl with an odd-looking scorpion tail poking upwards from underneath her skirt, spoke to the first years half an hour later to bring them both the good news and the bad news.

"Well… the fire damage isn't too bad. Mostly just burns on the walls but most of the appliances will have to be replaced. We can go back inside in a few hours but the kitchen is gonna be out of commission for several days," She said, scratching her head in apparent mild inconvenience, "I suppose all of you will learn from today's mess, right?"

"We will," Melody assured her, feeling a little bit embarrassed herself, "Thanks."

Shaula, with a rather exasperated expression, then turned her head to the other second and third years and said aloud; "Sorry, guys. We'll continue the binge-watching a little later."

"Awww, what?"

"Damn, that sucks."

And thus, were complains that the first years had to suffer through this morning alone. Melody said nothing more about their entire ordeal as all of the girls huddled together in the cafeteria not long after. Everyone else seemed to be wanting to do something with their time outside the dorms but nobody had any plans whatsoever. Sirius and Epiphany had also gone back to the boy's dorm. It was obvious that all of them were more than irritated at the burning of their kitchen, but on top of all: they were hungry.

Settling for cafeteria food wasn't easy, considering that they all had to agree to share a room with Clara again. But most of the complaints from the group consisted of them having enough of having the same fast-cooked meal twice. Melody sort of understood. She used to live in a pizzeria, after all. "Cafeteria food bores me," Rylee Ingram said in agitation, she seemed to be much troubled by the loss of their kitchen, judging by how she turned into a blob of grumbling flesh in front of her unfinished pork cutlet, "Why can't I have cookies for breakfast?!"

"I don't favor it, as well. But I prefer eating cafeteria food over nothing," Diana said as she opened her mouth for another spoonful, "Besides, we don't have any alternatives."

A soft, pained moan could be heard from under the table. And suddenly, the head of Andi Ena slowly rose from her lying position. She seemed to be in a daze, still. "Oops," Diana said as she realized something. Then, she passed a metallic cup to her long-eared friend, "Here, tea, it'll help with the headache."

Andi looked down, up, and down again; all with the same furrowed expression. That blaring siren seemed to have affected her more than they had anticipated. The girl, however, was able to take the piping hot tea and blow on it, before sipping just a little bit of its contents. "Where am I…?" She breathed out. Her voice a mixture of a moan and a pathetic attempt to speak. It seemed as if she wasn't able to see straight yet either.

"Only the best place in the universe," Eris told her from across the seat.

Andi's face seemed to beam just a little, "Ahh… the Death Star…"

"Close," Eris responded, almost giggling, "The cafeteria."

And just like that, her small hopeful expression disappeared into a pout, "Oh…"

Melody chuckled, as well, while chewing on her own portion of food watching the tipsy-looking Andi getting comforted by Diana. The redhead needed something to laugh about when she knew that the perpetrator was still sulking beside her. If Melody could see auras, then Kira's facepalmed-towards-the-table position would give a concerning amount of bad juju.

Considering that this might've been Kira's first-time cooking (but somehow Melody doubted that, she didn't know why), it was sort of understandable that she had planned on celebrating her success, and now that everything went down in flames like this, Melody couldn't help but to feel pity for her. And to make matters worse, it was partly her fault for coming up with the idea of baking cookies and letting Kira help. She thought that having two inexperienced bakers were better than one because then they'd be able to share a commonality, but she didn't expect that it would be as bad as burning a dishwasher. Now that she thought about it: at what point did the dishwasher even catch on fire? She couldn't have left her eyes away from the kitchen that long, so it was astronomically impossible for it to catch flames in that short of an interval.

"Dishwasher aside…" Diana said suddenly. ' _Crap, did I say that aloud?'_ Melody thought, glancing worriedly at Kira. "They were saying that they'll run out of pork cutlets before noon. So, today's lunch will be porridge."

"What?!" Rylee exclaimed, seemingly very unhappy towards the news.

"That's not fair," The small Hazel pouted in disappointment.

"However," Before the two of them could complain any further, Diana raised her scaly hand. There was a moment of pause before she continued, "There will be breadsticks."

The entire table fell into a commotion of ' _boo_ 's and one cry of ' _Viva la revolution!_ '. "Can't we just eat lunch with the boys?" Melody suggested, seemingly confused why none of them had given the idea first.

"Mel, they're boys, they can't cook anything even if it cost them their lives," Eris told her without even a hint of mercy in her voice. She seemed to have been speaking from experience, "And I don't think their side of the dorms will let Kazani into their safe haven after they knew what she did."

Kira immediately lifted her head up in shock, "Everyone else knew?!"

"Who didn't? They would've thought it was you even if the villains were attacking," Eris said with a rather hearty chuckle, before Melody gave her a good strong punch on the shoulder, "Ow! I was joking! Sheesh!"

The disaster-prone girl suddenly smacked her forehead roughly against the table, before suddenly letting out a muffled cry, "My reputation is ruined!"

Melody had no particular problem with eating lunch in the cafeteria, except for the fact that she would rather not spend her afternoon held up in the school grounds. As much as she hated eating porridge for lunch, she was definitely more interested in eating somewhere different than the cafeteria for once. That was why she had the idea of baking cookies in the first place since she was trying to adjust herself to cooking on her own.

"Well, there's always the option of going to town," Hazel spoke up, looking through her smartphone, "Anyone fancy an Italian five-course fine dining meal?"

"I'm fine with whatever's not burned," Eris said in dismissal.

"Can we even afford restaurant food?" Diana asked.

Melody never thought about that, probably because she didn't know what she would spend it on. ' _Well, it never hurts to tag along,'_ she admitted to herself. "There are a ton of restaurants in New York. There's gotta be something that caters to our budget, right?"

"Too bad none of them give delivery services," Rylee commented, seemingly trying to catch a glimpse on Hazel's phone, "Hey, here's something interesting: Halloway's Pizzeria. Said it used to be a popular restaurant in Brooklyn. It's cheap, too."

"Ugh," Melody grumbled aloud, "I'd rather not have my dad bother us while we're eating."

Eris raised an eyebrow, "Your dad?"

"Yeah? Y'know, big guy, red hair, screams like a blue whale?" Melody reminded them, making a rather overreacted gesture when describing her own father.

"Yeah, no, I know. I mean," It wasn't only Eris who had her eyes on Melody now, the others seemingly had their attention averted towards the redhead as well, "Why don't we just crash at his place?"

And with that sudden realization, Melody quickly began to loudly dismiss the idea, "Oh no. No. Nuh-uh. That is out of the question!" It didn't help how she knew that it was her fault for bringing up her family's restaurant; it made it so much harder to face the embarrassment of imagining her classmates being familiar with Carlyle. However, her exclamation was cut short when the others began showing signs of agreeing.

"Oooh, what kind of pizzas do they serve?" An enthusiastic Rylee said to Hazel, completely ignoring Melody and happily skimmed through the virtual menu.

"See if there's anything Hawaiian," Eris pointed out, also joining in on the fun.

Diana then pursed her lips, "Mmm… I can't eat pineapples."

Not even a second later, Melody found herself silenced by how eager her friends seemed to be. If it weren't for the fact that her father was the embodiment of every reason why a girl shouldn't bring her friends over to their houses, she wouldn't have any problems inviting any of them over.

They weren't exactly Nathan Larson, the only childhood friend who had earned the respect of her father, nor were they inherently familiar of her personal life. So, considering the things above, she would rather have them not visiting her living place for the weekends. On top of all, she was worried about how her father would react in front of her classmates, remembering how he almost went mental after hearing that Narruk Mondronen injured her in their first battle.

No, wait, it was more dangerous to imagine how her father would normally react in front of _her_. She couldn't live with herself if her father had decided to hug her in front of every girl in the class. And imagine how bad it would be for her if she punched her back!

"Okay, then. It's settled," Rylee proclaimed ecstatically, "For lunch, we eat at Halloway's Old Man's!"

"Woah! What?! I didn't even agree to this!" Melody was quick to retort back, emotions and imaginary complicated situations stirring her thoughts.

"Well, of course, you wouldn't agree with it," Eris snorted at her direction, "The only people that you'd take to your place is Nathan Larson. Am I right?"

Melody sulked back. It wasn't completely untrue, but it also didn't mean that she'd let Nathan into her home anytime he wanted to. Besides, it was a pizzeria for Christ's sake! Anyone could enter at opening hours! Hell, she'd even let the _boys_ visit her house if it weren't for— Wait… now that she thought about it… it would be very, _very_ dangerous if the rumor of her in a love triangle with several of her male classmates got out to her dad. Oh God, she wasn't even sure if it was _still_ a triangle! "Come on, Melody," Rylee persuaded, "It's only for today!"

"And not to mention the possibility of a price cut for being her classmates," Diana reaffirmed them.

"Okay, now that's just pushing it," Melody angrily fought back. Having her own friends near the one place she wanted to avoid for the rest of the semester was the last thing she wanted.

"She's right, guys…" A voice beside her spoke. When Melody glanced sideways at her friend, Kira was already lifting her head up from the table. Everyone could see the petulant look that she wore as her blank, furrowing eyes stared down at her hands.

"We shouldn't be crashing into someone else's home," She told them, her voice still raspy and monotone. Melody would be thankful if it weren't for the fact that she felt bad for having Kira to say that in her defense. Well, having her understanding was enough to her. With that, perhaps they could finally move on to find another place to eat. However, Kira still had things to say, "It would be bad if I burned another kitchen down... Let alone the restaurant of my classmate's dad…"

The cherry on top had been placed. Now Melody felt unwantedly guilty after hearing how close Kira was to breaking down to anxiety again. Again, it was sort of part of her responsibility as someone who had been at fault when the kitchen of their dorm burned down after an attempt at cookie baking.

Damn her conscience…

"Fine…" Melody sighed, "Just… don't say a lot of unnecessary things in front of my dad. I beg you."

"We promise, Melody," Hazel reassured her with a prim and proper smile.

"Chillax, we're just going out to eat. It can't be that bad," Rylee told her with a rather too-laxed smile. If Melody could portray how bad a situation where her dad eavesdrops on other people's conversations, then she would in a heartbeat.

She could only nod in a surrendering gesture, "Thanks Hazel, Rylee."

"Camellia."

"Camellia," Melody restated. Well, her gravestone had been marked. Now was the problem of what she would do before her deathbed. Maybe she could call her father and inform him of an oncoming party of high school girls, and making sure that he keeps a promise to stay out of their way for the rest of lunch?

"Oh, by the way, Melody," Eris called out to her, "Mind if I invite my brother? He'll feel left out if I didn't."

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," Melody stammered, not entirely knowing how to answer her. She didn't think that they were allowed to bring more guests, but she supposed the idea of calling her father about their visit would be rather useless if by any chance another (needlessly disruptive) classmate of hers decided to come by and visit as well.

"Alright, so how about we meet at the intersection in the fifth avenue, here?" Hazel then placed her smartphone on the table to let the others see the directions of the town that she had just browsed.

Diana looked closely, before bringing up a finger up to her snout, "It doesn't seem to far from the school. How does 11:30 sound?"

"Make it 12 on the clock," Eris suggested, "I have something to do first. If y'all wanted to go first, it's cool."

"Alright, 12 o'clock, then," Diana remarked, before looking back at Melody, "Is that okay?"

Her father usually opens up at around 10 or earlier, simply because he needed to prepare Melody for school when they were still living together. She wasn't entirely sure if he had stuck to the same schedule when he moved. Well, knowing restaurants in general, it would be entirely logical if he was open at that hour.

"That's… fine," She told them, still hesitant having her girl-friends visit her home. The table then turned into a loud chatter of delight.

"Wonderful," Hazel clapped her hands together, "This will be so much fun!"

"Seconded," Rylee exclaimed, "Finally, something better than cafeteria food!" With a rather heavy heart, Melody looked back at Kira, before she felt a sudden surge of relief. The girl in question seemed to be enjoying the thought of visiting Melody's home more than what she had claimed herself to be. Of course, there was still a little piece in Melody's thoughts that wondered if there were still some things that bothered her, but regardless if that was the case, she was glad that the two could move on.

Though, Melody herself wasn't _entirely_ anticipating a guest visit to her household. She still had some amount of doubt in her mind. In the end, she settled that if it was only them, and just one boy, she'd at least be able to have fewer things to worry about.

ENDING OF CHAPTER 23

"—and thus, is why we three had also decided to accompany the girls on this merry occasion!" The voice of Lyon McAllister spoke with enough enthusiasm to gnaw even further at Melody's already frayed nerves. The sun was shining ever so brightly, and the bustling crowds of students around them filled the air with an atmosphere of nostalgia and serenity. Several teenage couples are out on their dates, eager to take their special other to a promised destination. Numerous groups of friends, both males, and females, joyfully enjoying the time of their youth with each other. All this positive energy and all Melody Halloway could hear was another disappointment.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a _girl's occasion_?!" Melody barked, seemingly very upset when another uninvited three appeared before her, "This wasn't what we had planned!"

"Don't look at me," Diana told her, feeling a tad bit responsible for the planning of the lunch, "They came here on their own accord. I was tending to Andi the whole time."

"I forgot everything that had happened in the past three hours!" Andi chirped, unsettlingly happy. The three girls were accompanied by both Rylee and Kira, who all were waiting for the others to arrive at their meeting point. Only to be met by these three guests. Melody then jabbed a finger at their other three guests.

"They don't have a reason to be here! We came here because we couldn't use our kitchen anymore!"

"Hey, if it's any consolation, we're also sick of our dorm cooking," Marcus McPherson reassured her with a happy-go-lucky smile. His casual attire greeting the others with a classic 21st Century band, complete with a set of blue jeans and sneakers, "You should've seen it. Narruk's been fucking nuts in the kitchen. Thinks he's some sort of 5-Star Michelin Chef. Well, I would give him the credit if all he had ever cooked wasn't consisting of store-bought eggs, Chinese take-outs, and pizza pockets."

"Quite so!" Lyon said with a joyful clap, his unhinged smile still strewn all over his face, "So, please forgive us if our presence here has been less than what you have desired."

Melody could only forgive him for two things: One, she didn't want to waste time out here in the intersection of the road, out under the sun, wasting her time grumpily imagining what painful punishments she could befall upon these uninvited guests. And two, she had no place to say what anyone could and could not do. The whole point of inviting (or more accurately: _letting_ ) the girls into her home was because she could not do one simple task of screwing up breakfast. She would've understood more if they had come to the pizzeria looking for food, but obviously, they were just here to tag along.

"Okay… But why are _you_ here?" Diana said to the last of their guests, the one who had been silent ever since coming here.

"Got dragged along," Oliver Ferdinand said in a robotic monotone. His unblinking shadowy eyes stared through the other's soul as they wondered how uncomfortable it must feel to wear that jacket in this weather, "Was going to buy ramen…"

Lyon then turned to Melody yet again, "As you can see from Oliver's excitement, please allow us to partake in your activity if it is not too much to ask."

"But I'm not—"

"Of course, we'll try to keep ourselves well-behaved!"

To Melody, it wasn't the problem of whether or not a visitor from her class was misbehaving, if that was the case she would've just thrown them out of the restaurant without a second thought, but it was the problem of whether she was ready to show the full clingy side of her dad as close as the food will be.

She glanced at Kira who stood beside her, the latter only tilted her head in apparent puzzlement when she noticed Melody's gaze.

At this point, she could only expect the entire class to arrive, "Fine, but make sure you don't—"

"YAHOO!" The shout surprised all those who occupied the intersection. When they turned to look into the distance, towards the street leading back to the school, they saw Eris Blackwood waving at them as she approached.

Melody almost thought to herself, "About time!" before she realized the extra group of people Eris brought along. A vividly visible one was the shortest, who was Hazel Camellia Aria, seemingly leading Eris to the spot that they all had promised to meet. Behind Eris was her brother, Alexander Blackwood, also in his uncannily similar casual attire as his twin sister, he seemed to have gotten the invite.

The others, however; consisting of a rather scathing Lyle Wolfbane, a disinterested Narruk Mondronen, a somewhat eager Andrew Abrams, a hesitant little Sirius Wilsk, and surprisingly, her childhood friend Nathan Larson. Lyon was the first to greet them as they walked down the concrete road towards the pedestrian's intersection to where the others were standing. "Ah, so good to have you with us finally, Eris!" He said with joy.

"You all seemed to have gotten my memo," Eris remarked, smirking at the other two boys.

"Of course, we wouldn't miss a chance to learn more about Melody Halloway's personal life!" Melody's train of thoughts silenced, " _Wait… that's not what they said they were doing…"_

"Yeah, yeah, big guy. Do what you want on this fine, fine morning," Eris dismissed him completely, before walking towards Melody with a ready grin, "Seems like I owe you an explanation."

"Don't," Melody commanded her, shaking her head in exasperation, "I don't even care anymore."

"Well, that's good. I wasn't planning on telling you that it was me who invited Larson, anyway," she said. Her smirk growing.

Melody closed her eyes, a visible pursed smile could be seen on her lips, "That true, Nathan?"

"Yep," And as if on cue, the half-leopard boy approached her with a rather long stride, "She's nice enough to invite the only FH1 student here, you should learn and do the same."

Melody crossed her arms and scoffed, "Yeah, right. Just so I could expose all of your little cat toys in front my friends?"

"Hey, you're the one who kept them," Nathan shrugged in return.

"This is why I never invite you over anymore." Then, Narruk the werewolf boy in casual checkered shirt decided to barge into their conversation the second the two began to ramble about.

"Excuse me? So, when are we going to this pizzeria?" As Hazel was leading the group, she quickly reopened her phone and checked for directions.

"This way. Right, Melody?" She said, pointing to one of the turns.

Melody looked at what she was pointing and said, "Nah. Let's just take a shortcut through a one-way road. It's just around that corner."

"Finally. I'm starving," Lyle Wolfbane harrumphed, crossing his purple-ish sleeved arms. Melody looked at the crowd that had gathered, somehow feeling a slight pang inside her chest. Worried as she was, there was nothing she could do about it, not when all of them were already gathered in the town with hopes of eating together as classmates. Walking there would only take a couple of minutes, perhaps quicker if fate allowed them. However, it gave Melody some time to reminisce; how long had it been since the last time she brought home friends other than Nathan? She knew for a fact that for now, it was only him that could handle her hotheaded nature, she herself found it rather exhausting from time to time.

Little by little, as they went to the path guided by Melody, aided with Hazel's trusty virtual map, the class of FH2 began to merge into the background. Talking, gossiping, chattering, all of them seemingly having fun with each other; blending into the sight of teenagers and high schoolers, you wouldn't even notice that they were heroes in training. It was almost magical. Sometimes she wondered if what her family lacked was something normal. Something untouched by Quirks and superheroes. Her thoughts were cut short when a two-story, red-bricked building came into view just as they came out of the corner of the alleyway, just across an asphalt road between the two pavements. The street was a bit less crowded than on the intersection from before, but perhaps it was because of the place setting, and the fact that it was further than the main road. The Halloway's Pizzeria sign was the first to get their attention, without a doubt.

Melody sighed, thinking that this was it: judgment day. Of course, she could be just overreacting, not to mention that they were only here to eat (apart from Lyon who Melody had to make sure to get him as far away from her room as possible). If Carlyle had any other ideas, she would deal with it later on. "That's the place," She gestured to the others.

"Smaller than I expected," Andi mused.

"Well, it's a two-star restaurant," Hazel said as she checked her phone, "Oh, wait a minute. It's one and a half."

With a twitch of an eye, Melody painfully admitted her family's infamous reputation as a New Yorkian back-alley character of a restaurant, "Don't… expect much from it…"

Rylee nodded in agreement, "Well. As long as there's food."

Melody felt a little disappointed hearing that. She couldn't deny the simplicity, not to mention how out of place this restaurant was from her usual Brooklynian hometown. Well, it wouldn't be her problem anyway, if any of them got cold feet. After all, they were here for lunch, not sightseeing. She proceeded to guide them across the road, through the zebra-crossing marked not far from their destination. It was sort of sad, to be honest. It was like looking through a time machine into the 21st century while living in the 23rd. If people really treasured classics, then this surely wasn't the right example.

"Woah, it looks exactly the same as the one back in our neighborhood," Nathan whistled in awe as they got closer, nudging Melody by the shoulder, "They still serve those anchovy and cheese toppings?"

At least there was him; perhaps the only boy out of time. "I don't know," Melody nudged back aggressively, "You're the only person who would ever order it. It's not even on the menu."

"We can order things out of the menu?" Said Lyle as he barged in on their conversation from behind, smiling as he did, "Well, that makes ordering things in this shady back-alley restaurant easier, then."

"I'll just have whatever's omnivorous," Diana remarked. Hazel, who was standing next to Melody, brought a finger up to her chin and said.

"I wonder what I'll have. I haven't eaten any low-class restaurant servings in a long time."

"Anything with meat is fine!" Rylee pumped up the air with an impatient tone.

"Oh, _contraire_!" Lyon started, holding up his index finger pompously, "The best topping to accompany a classic Italian meal is broccoli and cheese!"

"I'm allergic to cheese…" Sirius said to himself. His small dangling cowlick seemingly wrinkling in response. Ignoring their comments, Melody approached the entrance; just a pair of aluminum framed glass doors, decorated with an open-closed hanging sign. A brief jog got her just where she needed to peek inside through the foggy glass. The others behind her waited for some sort of signal—some even took note of the architecture of the pizzeria's simple-bricked nature. Melody herself took her time seeing if the coast was clear of whatever invisible danger that she had in mind.

She only saw a couple of patrons through the glass door, but there were enough tables for everyone she brought. She didn't exactly think about where she would eat, remembering how she usually liked to get herself held up in her own room with a leftover pizza. Even with Nathan coming over, the two would just usually hang out in the living room… or in the pantry where they nibble and munched on Carlyle's ingredients for late-night snacks. She would most likely be accompanying her class in the customer's common dining area since her family didn't have any special private rooms for occasions like this. It was a weird thought when she imagined herself in a social circle, in public, with people other than Nathan.

When she opened the entrance, a little bell rung overhead. They were met with a simple dim yellow lighting overhead, with bright vagrant colors passing through the name of the restaurant in multicolored stickers from outside the windows. The sound of their footsteps quickly began filling the waiting area, stopping right behind the wooden menu stand and a simple potted plant. But then she saw that the cashier was unmanned, perhaps because of the lack of customers this hour. Carlyle or Anthony should be greeting them any moment now after hearing that bell. It was now or never to inform them of what they would expect…

"Well, this is it," Melody said aloud so that everyone could hear as they entered the pizzeria, "I… uh… have to warn you about my dad."

"Yeah, we know," Lyle interrupted, "He already gave us his first impressions."

"No, not that," Melody remarked, feeling her cheeks burn at the mention of the time Carlyle tried hugging her in front of everyone, "It's just that… in front of others, he can be a little—"

 **CRASH!**

"WHAT THE HELL, ANTHONY?! THAT WAS OUR WEEK'S WORTH OF TOMATO SAUCE, YOU BUFFOON! NO, NO! GRAB THE MOP! ARE YOU _TRYING_ TO GET YOUR PAYCHECK CUT?!" Melody closed her eyes and hung her head. Seemingly accepting that her life was some sort of divine punishment sentenced by the gods for a grave sin that she apparently did in her previous life.

"… a little harsh…"

 ** _Purpose of a Hero_**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed. No teaser for this chapter since the next will continue this mini-storyline.**


	25. Chapter 24: Fire and Pizza (Part 2)

**Well, here's part 2! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

The other patrons clearly heard the whole thing, even if the source was hidden behind the kitchen door. Some of the U.S.A.E.I students had to hold in their laughs, but others deliberately showed some sort of awe and surprise in their faces.

Heavy footsteps were heard coming from inside the kitchen, before a lumbering man appeared to greet his new patrons, "Hi! Sorry about the hold-up. What can I—" Carlyle's eyes fell upon the redhead and immediately Melody regretted ever being alive to experience this moment. "MEL—!" His rapturous bellow was cut short, however, when he noticed her classmates. Carlyle blinked a few times, seemingly making sure if he wasn't imagining what he was seeing, "Oh? You brought friends?"

Melody slowly turned around to face her father, "Can you… can we get a couple of tables, please?"

She had given up on thinking. It was better to not think at all, she decided. From the way she heard her father phrased the word, 'friends' was enough for her to realize how detached she was from anyone else beside Nathan, as far as Carlyle knew. "Certainly, my sweet!" The lumbering man had gotten his trademark smile back. With his back straightened, he began approaching the group, "Anything for my dear Melly! Now, how many seats do you want?"

The others were silent. Most likely, they didn't know how to properly react to a man such as this. Even Lyon the most daring one out of the seventeen students here had seemingly got taken aback by Carlyle's presence alone. Even Melody took her time to try and gather whatever was left of her dignity after being called with all the pet names in front of the others. Surprisingly, Eris was the first one to speak up, "Um… seventeen seats, please."

"Seventeen seats. Got it!" Carlyle chirped back, before turning his head back to the kitchen, "ANTHONY! QUICKLY CLEAN THAT MESS UP! WE HAVE NEW ORDERS, DAMNIT!" It was no secret that a middle-aged man of his kind was certainly capable of letting out such beastly roar, but that still didn't mean that anyone wanted to actually hear it. When he averted his attention back to the group of students, most of them were already trying to distance themselves from apparent danger. "I take it you're Melody's friends?" Carlyle said with a smile, "You can call me Carlyle! Melly's number one biggest fan!"

A flustered Melody then hissed at him, "Dad!"

"I-it's nice to meet you, Mr. Halloway," Andi Ena squeaked out, still fazed by his demeanor.

"Oh, don't be like that! Calling me Carlyle is fine! And—AH! Nathan! So good to see you here!" He said to the tailed boy in the middle of the group, "Your classmates here, too?"

"No, sir, just me today," Nathan responded. He was perhaps the only one lax enough to be around the burly man.

"Well, then, since you and Melody are already familiar with how we do things around here, why don't you show them where to sit? Melly can help by picking up the menu," Carlyle suggested before tightening the dirty apron that she wore around his waist, "Take your time picking the goods. I'll wait in the kitchen if you need me!" Even a few seconds after he disappeared completely from sight, the group couldn't deny the awkwardness that formed around them. Melody even refused to look at them directly in the face from just imagining the things that they will think about her later in school. And yet, just as she thought that it was over, a bellowing roar filled the air once again. "GODDAMMIT ANTHONY, WET THE MOP BEFORE YOU USE IT!"

And then it was silence. Even the other patrons had stopped eating their meals for the second time. "Well, you heard the man," Nathan finally decided to take charge as he clapped his hands together to get their attention, "Let's get our seats."

After a few exchanging glances, they all finally moved to Nathan's guidance. While the others were busy picking seats, some were joining the tables to get more space. Nathan also managed to assist the others by gathering more chairs, specifically the ones that were still in decent condition. Of course, some of the class tried to lend a helping hand. Lyon, while busily filling the circle with his usual outlandish chit-chat, helped set up the table with the other boys. While Eris tended to her brother most of the time, she was evidently also putting aside some of her attention into the other girls. It was as if most of them were used to having social outings like this. Melody watched in the distance, still trying to adjust her disorganized emotions. But with one glance towards Kira Kazani, who seemed to be happily enjoying her time with Sirius Wilsk, suddenly all of Melody worries seemed to disappear. So far it wasn't so bad, she thought to herself. For the rest of lunch, she just needed to be herself.

"Hey," Nathan's voice broke her trance, holding a vacant seat next to Andi and another seemingly for himself, "You gonna take a seat or what?"

Melody merely stared at him, before shaking her head with a sigh. "In a minute, you furball. I gotta take the menu first," She said before leaving the guests on their own. Walking towards the entrance again met her with the menu stand from before, and on it were a stack of hardcover menus and a fully written paper that had a print on top that said 'waiting list'. She picked up the stacks, having only four or five in total. It wasn't the right amount for everyone to hold, but she knew that it didn't really matter. She had seen a lot of people share their menus with the family. Things only get tricky when the patrons wanted something new from the chef.

Looking at the menu now, it was obvious that these were given so little care as seen from the worn-out colors, and an almost ripped spine. She had already proposed more copy of a new and improved menu, but Carlyle insisted on keeping the old one. Of course, she wasn't entirely surprised, considering how bad he was at making new foods… Then again, she could say the same about herself.

Melody pocketed three of the menus between her armpit, readying to rejoin her friends. She brushed off the need to tell Carlyle about replacing the waiting list paper. But when she was only a few steps away from the menu stand, the sound of a bell ringing was heard, signaling the appearance of a new customer. Without thinking, Melody already knew how to tend to them as soon as she heard the sound of the bell. The least she could do was lend them one of the menus in her hands. But just as she was going to greet them, it was as if her body stopped completely. Melody could've sworn that she was thinking about whether or not she was dreaming the entirety of that second. But the moment she stared into those unyielding pairs of abysmal depths, disguised as ruby colored retinas of demonic ambiance, she realized that hell hath no fury like a six-feet-tall Amazonian girl staring her down from above with a bloodthirsty expression enough to match the scorn of the long forgotten elder gods of chaos.

"The fuck're you looking at?" Clara Ramirez seethed her terrifyingly long fangs at Melody. The redhead had immediately forgotten everything that she was about to do. Clara was too, _too_ close. Melody wasn't even sure if the two had been this close to each other before. It was as if time and space dilated by a short margin. Her field of vision was suddenly enclosed in a shape of the girl in front of her, seemingly out of pure primal instinct. Thousands of questions flooded her mind in an instant, and they all seemingly came to an immediate dead end every time she made eye contact. Even imagining the odds of having Clara Ramirez in her family's restaurant was enough to make her question god. It wasn't until another voice called out to them that Melody realized that she had forgotten to breathe.

"Ah! Just in time, Clara! I was wondering where you were!" As Melody turned her head back at her classmate's table in break-neck speed, she saw darkened faces full of wariness and uncertainty… and one full of apparent unadulterated joy as it waved at them in glee.

"See, everyone? I told you I wasn't joking when I said I invited her here!" Said the fiery-haired boy as he nudged another classmate beside him. _Of course_ , it was Lyon McAllister that invited her here. It was the only possible explanation. Melody should've known something inherently worse was coming the second she let her guard down.

"Heh! You wish, you piece of shit," Clara growled back, "I'm only here to see Crybaby's pathetic everyday life with my own eyes!"

Melody's heart suddenly got caught in her throat. Then, the magenta-haired girl passed a glimpse from the corner of her almond-shaped eyes, before grinning like a sadist, "And looking at this dumpster of a restaurant that you'd call home, I'm not disappointed even for a bit."

"Oh, that's good to hear!" Lyon responded. Smiling with an equally unhinged expression, "You'll love the food here! Of course, I haven't had one myself, but—"

"Who the fuck asked you to tell me what _I_ will like and what I will hate?! Huh?!" The grin that was there on Clara's lips was changed into a frown full of abhorrence. The entire restaurant was silent except for these two as they completely filled the atmosphere of the room with an unnecessary amount of oil and water energy, to the point where it was almost toxic. It was thought to be impossible for one to feel completely unnaturally suicidal from watching other people's interaction, but experiencing this scene alone was enough to make the other patrons mirror the cries of their souls into their eyes.

"Well, I would've figured so after I found you eavesdropping on Eris when she was telling Alexander about our visit to Halloway's Pizzeria," Lyon shrugged, running his mouth as if it was his daily job to try and piss people off, "Not to mention, how you didn't eat any of the cafeteria food for breakfast."

Like two players playing dodgeball, the way they keep exchanging more condescending comments about each other in two completely different kinds of tone was uncannily familiar. "Wha—?! You fucking creep, how long have you been spying on me?!" Clara bellowed in anger. There was a tinge of paleness forming on her usually tanned skin.

"Calm down, Ramirez," Eris was the second one to speak. Melody didn't notice it before but it seemed like she had been waiting for this moment also, "I've given you what you promised, right? So, just sit down and order for the time being."

The girl in question gritted her teeth, before hissing back at Melody. "Serve me anything nauseating, and I'll make sure you, your bloodline, along with your whole descendants regret it," She said before stomping over towards a lone table with only one seat in them. The rest of the class didn't say anything throughout the whole exchange. Melody herself found a part of her knowing that it was sort of impossible to do so without having the impression of defusing a time bomb. She could only expect that the others were already used to having a girl like her barge in on the worst times, but none of them knew the churning abdominal pain of having her whole family threatened inside of her own home.

Melody chose to try and pretend Clara wasn't there in the restaurant for the whole day, even when the magenta-haired girl bumped her knee on the edge of her table before letting out a loud "FUCK!" that echoed throughout. "Sorry about that, Melody," Eris comforted the redhead when she rejoined the others with the menu being spread around their table, "I thought it was a good idea at the moment."

"What? Letting her insult my whole family inside of my home?" Melody said with a straight look.

"No, no!" Eris said, having some sort of realization of what she had just indirectly supposed to have caused, "It was supposed to be just a simple bet since… y'know… she said she didn't believe you could make anything decent. So, I invited her here. I didn't really think she would come. Lyon just happened to jump the gun and did the same."

"Oh yes, I never realize how fun it is to supposedly 'jump' on top of a very dangerous weapon!" Lyon stated with a seemingly very satisfied look on his face, "Especially when it is a very successful strategy for manipulating someone in doing your bidding!"

With a blank look on Melody's face, she stared at Eris who—after realizing how wrong Lyon had phrased his statement—shrugged, "I gotta have _some_ sort of fun after our battle!"

"Whatever, alright? Just don't forget she's your problem now. And if anything happens and it is because one of you pissed Clara off at the wrong time, all of you are paying my mortgage," Melody warned, seemingly having picked up all the pride she had lost after experiencing verbal abuse.

"Not even five minutes in and I'm getting service shittier than the outhouse Kazani used to take a shit!" Clara barked loudly from her table, which was several feet away from theirs, "I don't see any menu on my table, Crybaby! Did you forget to buy more after treating your ass for another fucking swig of fermented weakling juice, or did you use it to bake your god-awful excuse of an Italian dish?!"

Oh. There goes her pride, again. After a pause, Melody took another look at Eris. She then snatched one of the menus spread upon the table, and hissed closely on the raven-haired girl's face, " _Your_ problem!"

"Well, that's Mel hating me for the rest of my life," Eris mumbled to herself morosely as Melody tended to Clara.

"Still, I didn't expect you were serious," Andrew told her, "I mean—granted—Ramirez only came here because of a bet, but you must be pretty ballsy to do that."

"Ballsy my fucking arse," Lyle scoffed, "If anything, making someone unwantedly come by here out of their consent and letting them insult the owner of the restaurant's family in front of every patron is what I would call a next-level douchebaggery."

"Oh wow, Wolfsbane. You're such a good fucking friend. Hey, why don't you just ask Melody out right now if you think you're sooooo familiar," Eris sarcastically jibed back, burying her attention into a menu that she had just picked up Diana took the chance to stop Lyle before he could retort any further.

"Anyways, since we can't eat one whole pizza alone, I think it'll be better to order two large pizzas since they have 8 slices each."

"I-I think I'll just have a salad," Sirius declared as he ran through another one of the menus. Suddenly, he began to turn sour before calling out to thin air loudly; "Shut up, Epiphany! I can't eat anything with cheese!"

"I doubt a lot of us want to eat the same pizza," Marcus commented, "I'm feeling olive and anchovy."

"Well, I'll just have a whole pizza for one," Narruk said, looking at the menu Marcus was holding, "Unless any of you want a whole pepperoni pizza."

"Why can't we just have the chef cook one slice of pizza for each person?" Hazel inquired. Nathan merely chuckled at that statement.

"Well, this pizzeria only has three people on its staff, including Melly. Besides, all of their doughs are baked evenly."

"Hmm," Andi mused loudly, "Then, I'll just have another pepperoni pizza as well."

"I second that," Diana told the others.

"Me, too!" Kira enthusiastically joined in.

"Alright. So, one salad, one large pepperoni pizza, one small anchovy, and olives pizza" Eris restated loudly when the majority got their picks, "Anything else?"

Lyon raised up his hand, "Lemme get uhhh—"

"Okay, if nobody's suggesting anything else, I'm getting a regular sized Hawaiian pizza," Eris quickly concluded before placing down her menu, glaring at the auburn-haired boy with a demeaning look out the corner of her eye, "Everyone here fine with Coca-Cola?"

The rest nodded in agreement. "Oh! We don't have any Coca-Cola. How about Pepsi?" Nathan added. The others didn't seem to like that.

"Fine. Whatever," Eris said with a dissatisfied grumble, "16 cold Pepsi drinks, one large pepperoni pizza, one small anchovy and olive pizza, one regular Hawaiian pizza, a salad, and whatever the fuck Ramirez ordered."

"Alrighty~! I'll go tell Melody's dad real quick," Nathan told them as he sat up and went into the kitchen. With the orders repeating inside his head, thinking that might as well tell Melody about it, he had unknowingly met the redhead right where he was supposed to meet Carlyle. She seemingly did not notice the tailed boy entering the kitchen, as she was too busy tending to the fridge looking for something.

As Nathan took a closer look at Melody, unbeknownst to her that he was doing so, he realized that she was deep in thought. Under the shine of the bright refrigerator light, completely fazed by whatever was running through her mind, Nathan got a look at the little freckles around her fair cheeks even from afar. He carefully treaded closer without having himself being noticed. The sound of his footsteps suppressed by the soft howling of the air conditioner as he tip-toed on top of the fogged, unpolished pearl marble tiles. When surrounded by the many cooking utensils, passing along the black and burned brick furnace, and as his tail barely nudged the cold metal of the fryers and ovens, it made him remember a moment from deep within his childhood memories.

He was just a foot apart, and yet Melody was still silent. With a little smirk, he leaned in and whispered, "What? Forgot where you put your knickers?"

"Jesus!" Melody jumped back in surprise. Her face reddening in response, "What the heck, Nathan?"

"Wow, jeez, sorry," Nathan reeled back, unable to hide his laughter, "Something wrong?"

"Something wrong?!" Melody asked back in anger, "You're asking _me_ what the hell is wrong with you creeping up on someone?!"

"I didn't think you'd be so jumpy," Nathan leaned into the refrigerator, seemingly feeling a bit embarrassed himself, "What? Was it something that… that Clara girl said?"

Melody took a moment to answer. She only gave him a rather disbelieved stare, "No… She does this all the time. I'm not ticked off about what some… someone who's dad knew my mom said."

"That was oddly specific," Nathan remarked.

"Yeah well, _you_ are unsurprisingly acting really weird," Melody scoffed back. She started reaching into the refrigerator again, and pulled out a small can of ginger ale and a tray of ice, "Just… do yourself a favor and leave me alone. Unless you've forgotten, there are orders to be made."

"Orders…" Nathan repeated. His tone was dry and rather disheartened, "Right. Where's your dad, anyway?"

"He's…" Melody stopped mid-sentence as she walked over towards a cooking table, readying a tall glass for customers along with the can of ginger ale, "He's on the backroom restocking with Anthony."

There was an awful silence between them before Nathan asked again, "… Did he hear?"

"Gah, I don't know…" Melody seethed through her teeth, closing her fists until her knuckles turned white, "I don't care, alright? He... I don't know how he usually reacts to things like this. Ugh, whatever, he'll forget about it tomorrow..."

"But you won't," Nathan's response was almost too quick, "right?"

Melody said nothing. She was pouring the entire contents of the ginger ale to the tall glass, seemingly already filled to the brim with the ice that she took from the freezer. The sound of fizzing filled the damp room, accompanying the soft air howls around them.

"Ah, dang it," Melody groaned, "I forgot the extra utensils upstairs when I bought them last week."

"Can't we just use whatever's available?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, if you want unclean ones for 17 people," She said again.

"Who even uses spoons and forks while eating pizza?"

"It's a professional courtesy, ya big oaf," Melody scorned with a rather unamused look, "I'm not surprised that you don't know that. Besides, I still need to clean them after I bought them." It was then that several more footsteps were heard from the entrance of the kitchen to the main dining area. When Melody turned her head, she was met with the sight of two of her classmates: Kira and Andi.

"Hiya, Mel!" Said Andi chirpily, seemingly merry to be in the kitchen, "Wow, this place is pretty big!"

"What are you guys doing here?" Melody asked when the two approached her.

"Sorry for barging in," Kira sheepishly said as she scratched the back of her head, "Just thought that I could probably help you in the kitchen since… you know…"

Melody did know, "A-are you sure? Cause…"

"Oh! Naaaah! I wasn't thinking about cooking, anyway!" Kira backtracked when she realized the red flags she was setting up, "Probably something more like setting up the table 'n stuff."

Almost immediately, Nathan perked up, "Well, Melody here was just getting new spoons and forks from upstairs. You might wanna come with her in case something happens." Melody raised her eyebrow in suspicion. Signaling a confused look to her childhood friend.

"What?" Nathan shrugged, "You don't know what accidents could happen up there!"

"Unbelievable," Melody said in response as she shook her head, "Fine. But you get the job of preparing everyone's drinks. I assume you already know what they want. If I don't see you working on one when I get back, you'll regret it."

"What are you gonna do? Fire me?" Nathan laughed sarcastically.

Melody merely smirked, "You won't get any free meals anymore."

"Oh, now that's cruel," He laughed even harder. She walked past her two friends, leaving the kitchen entirely to Nathan to use. She didn't bother telling him where to get all the stuff he needed to prepare their drinks, assuming that he was already familiar with where they placed their glasses.

"You two coming or what?" She said while looking past her shoulder. Andi and Kira both exchanged glances.

"Sneaking into Melody's room?" One said.

"And taking notes of her deepest, darkest secrets?" Replied the other.

Then, the two jumped up in excitement altogether, "HELL YEAH!"

"Yeah, yeah," Melody rolled her eyes as she walked headfirst towards stairs towards the living room upstairs, "You two touch anything and it'll be your lunch that is on the line."

Her two friends exclaimed in shock, immediately following her upstairs without any further comments. However, along the way, Melody could hear them giggle under their breaths, most likely because they were having their first-time glancing into Melody's private life while also being allowed to do so by the owner herself. Melody could only roll her eyes in amusement, thinking how childish these two were when left together. Then again, she had seen them firsthand doing imaginary 'shipping' as they would like to call it. It would be dangerous if any of these traits managed to seep into her dad. The room upstairs was highlighted by the window panes that were placed in a row, looking outwards towards the building across the street. The cold metal railing that boxed around the stairwell stopped just beside the living room, right next to the television stand.

"It's really cozy," Andi commented as she stared at the sight outside the windows, "So this is how people in Brooklyn lives, eh?"

"More or less," Melody said, letting the two experience the new environment to themselves, "But back then we had more car sounds outside than where we live now."

"Did they bother you?" Kira asked.

Melody only chuckled, "Oh, you can't imagine just how much they did." As they walked past the couch, Andi ran her hand through the black, chipped off edges of the leather seating and looked at it afterward, "Well if it was me; once I moved here, I would've thought about getting newer furniture."

"Oh, I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Melody warned when she realized where Andi was touching, "Nathan left that there."

"Ew…" Kira playfully said in disgust, "Seemed like he marked this place before."

Melody could only agree, even if it pained her to say it, "He left more, see? Right there on the wall. Did that every time we had a sleepover when we were kids. I'm surprised it took his family about five or six sleepovers to realize how long his nails had gotten."

When Kira's eyes fell upon one particular part of the room, specifically on the side closest to the couch, she saw scratch marks on the brick wall of a hundred jagged white lines on the usual red. She decided not to comment on that, having already familiarized herself with the two childhood friends' relationship from the story that Melody had shared. Nevertheless, it was always fun and fulfilling to see it firsthand. Kira then realized the fan club that could form and most likely prosper from this. Meanwhile, Melody walked over towards the small pantry on the corner of the room, complete with a rather small sink and a stove, with the spatulas and pans placed neatly inside one of the cabinets under them. However, what was interesting about that little corner was the charred bricks that spread around the edges of the stove and around it.

"Woah, what happened there?" Kira whistled when she noticed it as well. Melody merely laughed when she started reminiscing.

"Dad tried to cook. It didn't end well. We had to move a lot of things that used to be there, including what used to be mom's old heroic achievements shelf. Now they're all in dad's room."

"Oh, interesting. Well, it can't be as bad as when I tried to cook," Kira simply stated, giving a small chuckle in response, "Bet Larson did all the cooking."

"Don't kid yourself," Melody responded, before pointing out to a set of photos that stood on top of the TV stand. They were photos of her, Carlyle, and Nathan's family who seemed to be consisting of his mother and his father who looked similarly like a lion. "Everyone who has been here tried cooking once, even Nathan. It was only then that we realized that it was better if we helped each other doing so, or else we'd just get a mess in our hands."

Kira at first was silent, looking down towards her feet with a small unbegotten smile, "If only we were more careful with each other, right?"

"Yeah," Melody nodded, mirroring the melancholic look, "There's always a second time, and a third after that."

"We could reach about a million tries with me, though," Kira laughed.

Melody also laughed back, "Well, there's no harm in trying and trying again. My mom always said that the best teacher comes from failure."

"Well, come on, then!" Kira playfully nudged her with a hearty smile, "Let's go find this spoons and forks! Then, we'll see if I'm fit to cook again!"

"Woah, there, big girl. Maybe we should leave this one to my dad," If Melody remembered correctly, she had placed her grocery bag somewhere inside the cabinets. The same grocery bag that she had used to carry the stuff that she bought from a cooking store for newer utensils and tools just about a few days ago. She bent down and opened one of the cabinets, and immediately she was met with a sight of glossy moss green in between the dark and damp cabinet space. She must have forgotten to empty the rest of the things she bought out because she could see that the bag was somewhat filled. If the newly bought spoons and forks were somewhere around here, it would be in that bag, between the sink pipes and the frying pans.

"Hey, Melody!" Kira called out from behind her. When the redhead glanced back, she saw the pyrokinetic standing in front of a door, "'This your room?"

It was just a regular door with nothing stamped in front of it. Similar to the one build beside it. Those two were both Carlyle's and her room respectively. Each facing the couch and the TV, divided by a single piece of wall between them.

"Yeah," Melody replied back, unsure of what to say, "You… uhh… wanna take a look around?"

"Would I?!" Kira exclaimed, which was followed by a very enthusiastic Andi.

"Can we, Melody?" Andi said in a jittery tone.

Melody opened and closed her mouth, inexperienced with other people barely containing their excitement into seeing her bedroom, "Umm… I mean, there's really nothing interesting in there. So…"

"Oh, it'll just be a bit, then!" Andi pleaded with wide eyes; her hand was already reaching for the doorknob.

Melody could only roll her eyes when the two barged themselves into her room and turned on the lights. After finally getting the eating utensils out of the bag (they were still wrapped together; both the spoons and forks in a thin, plastic wrapper complete with the price tag still attached to it), she closed the cabinet and joined in on her two friends. It was a small simple teenage girl's bedroom, but not very entirely girlish as anyone would expect from the fairer gender. It was certainly filled with hero related items, including action figures, posters, and some sort of crude elementary school drawings of peoples in spandex and capes. Both Kira and Andi were still looking around the room, taking in the reddish bricks, white eggshell paints, and the entirety of the metropolitan feel, while being lit by just a single lamp hanging from the ceiling.

To them, Melody's bedroom was messier than they thought. It was completely possible that she had no time cleaning anything judging from the fact that she spent most of the time in her dorm room. Other than that, it wasn't as if they were surprised, because the room itself had already mirrored Melody's deconstructed strong feminine character trope. The same Melody that they all know and love. You could say the room had the same melody as Melody. "Welp. There you go. My room," Melody stated in a matter-of-fact sort of tone, "Don't touch anything."

"It's a bit cramped," Andi commented as she moved deeper into the room, passing by the wooden desk and her bed, "Probably because it's really suburban."

"I don't know. I like it!" Kira simply said before jumping into Melody's bed immediately after she took off her shoes.

"Hey, who said you could sleep on my bed?" Melody scorned, watching Kira let herself lie spread-eagled on her back with a blissful look on her face. Meanwhile, Andi was taking her time looking through every nook and cranny of Melody's bedroom. She started with the books that sat on top of her desk, all seemingly consisting of school materials and notebooks, with a few pieces of papers stuck in between, possibly just another school work that Melody didn't bother to throw away. Then, she came upon a leather chest, right when she passed through Melody's wardrobe, just at the corner of the room.

"What's that?" Andi said, pointing at the chest. Melody glanced up and noticed the chest as well.

"Oh… Just storage for old stuff we don't use anymore. There's a lot of dad's things, too. Some of them are pretty old."

"We can sell those."

"Oi!"

Kira laughed, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

However, Andi was more than pleased to explore its contents, "There must be some sort of photo albums or anything with Mel's photo when she was smaller and tinier!" With two little clicks to the metal locks on its mouth, the leather chest was open for Andi to see just as she tinkered with it not long after she positioned herself sitting on her knees in front of it. Melody didn't seem like she was going to stop her anytime soon, because she herself wasn't sure what she would find when opening it. It had been a long time since she had seen its contents, and she remembered Carlyle going in and out of her room just to rummage through it several times.

"Wow…" Andi mouthed in amazement when the chest was opened in its full glory, "… Cat toys!"

Yes, there was nothing more eye-catching on the insides of the chest but a plethora of little cat toys, complete with a little feather duster fishing line, a makeshift ball of thread, and a scratching post to boot. These were obviously Nathan Larson's toys, but considering that the chest was never opened to anyone for a long time, these toys must've been from when Nathan was just a child. To Melody, however, she thought to herself; " _Huh, so that's where they were…"_ as she stared at the contents from behind Andi.

The antennae girl proceeded to rummage deeper into the chest, placing the cat toys beside her as she picked up another item. "Ooh! This must be the album!" She said cheerfully as she held a partly dusted hardcover book, big enough to fit her entire torso, "This thing's loaded!"

Kira crawled onto the edge of Melody's bed, where the owner of the room finally sat beside her with her feet dangling off of the edge. The two were curiously peeking into the photo album that Andi held; it had an off-color white with a collage of many unrelated things like a piano, flowers, and architectures as its cover, and two letters in golden printed cursive that said 'Photo Album'. Opening the first page met them with a letter, which Andi read aloud; "For Harmony…"

Both Kira and her looked at Melody, who was staring deeply into the album with her eyes blank, seemingly in full of thoughts. Then, she breathed out, "Yeah, that's my mom."

"Your dad must love her very much," Andi said as she opened another page, "Hey, these were them when they were young!" Kira and Melody leaned closer and saw a photo of a young Carlyle and a woman beside him, both smiling into the camera with their eyes mirroring each other's emotions captured perfectly in the photo. The woman had raven-black hair and a spitting image of Melody's face, while the man was skinnier than the one that they met not too long ago. The two were posing on some sort of table, and an out-of-focus background.

"Must be pre-wedding," Kira mused, "My parents did that, too. See? There's their wedding photo afterward." She was right, the page next to that was mostly consisting of these two in their wedding dresses, looking as if they were deeply in love with each other, with some even embracing their fated partner with gentleness in their eyes.

"That's odd," Andi said when she opened another page, "Here's a picture of your mom in a hero costume right after their marriage photos. She must've still been in the hero business even after she got married."

"Huh," Melody mumbled under her breath, looking closer towards the photo. It was a picture of Harmony in her old Teardrop costume, complete with vibrant colors and a facemask to decorate her style. She did remember that her late-mother was still working as a pro-hero when she was about four years old. It was the same when she had lost her life in battle as well. However, she did not expect Harmony to start working that early after marriage. Melody wondered if it was the same time Carlyle opened this pizzeria.

"Aww, look at this cute baby Melly!" Andi fawned to herself when she flipped another page, which now starred an entire two pages of a newborn baby still in her hospital tower, sleeping soundly in several different spots, including the incubation room.

"Cuter than the one we have right now!" Kira sniggered.

Melody only gave them a disbelieving stare, "You know what, Kazani? Next time we're visiting your parents I'm not stopping at just your photo album."

"Oh ho, okay," Kira laughed back, "And what are you going to find, Melly dear?"

"I don't know, there must be something I can use as blackmail," Melody said with a confident smile, before laughing it off as well.

"She's got a point, Kira," Andi said to the both of them, flipping simultaneous pages at once, "There's really not much besides her growth from time to time. There are also pictures of—I guess, a four-year-old her and Nathan doing sorts of things with their families, but we already know about that."

And with that, the photo album sightseeing came to a close. "I guess Melody didn't have a secret trait to her character after all," Andi concluded.

"Yeah, there's not much fun to find, here," Kira pouted, rolling onto her back while her head hung downwards from the edge of the bed, "Just date the guy already, you bore me with how long things been progressing!"

Melody groaned in response, "I told you, we're not like that—"

"Woah! Hang on! What's this?!" Andi suddenly shrieked very loudly when she began looking around for things inside the chest again. The two other girls looked at her in puzzlement. She took out several seemingly unrelated things, some Melody could recognize as her father's items from all the time he took out and put in more and more things every time he visited her room. But then Andi's rummaging sounds began to grow louder as if she had just found a jackpot and was digging with all her might through the heaps of dirt. And when she finally pulled out a treasure, even Melody could not believe what she was seeing.

It was a costume; more specifically: a hero's costume.

Andi held it aloft in the air. She stood up, just to show how big it really was. Under the single hanging lamp, a bright green jumpsuit glimmered softly. The more Andi moved her hands, the more the large blue teardrop-shaped insignia that connected the collarless opening began shimmering in bright aquamarine. The blue of the teardrop was encircled by two splitting lines with the same aquamarine color, which extended from its shoulders, and ended on its waist. Both the leg and arm sleeves were also colored differently, giving it an extra hue.

In an instant, as her eyes fell upon the suit, Melody was mysteriously drawn by a sudden odd weight that pulled upon her chest, constraining her breathing completely. When Andi silently handed the costume to her, she was sure it was the actual thing that her mother once wore in that one photo that she saw in her parent's album. It was smooth to the touch. Its exact composition was unknown, but it was different from the rest of the costume's make up. There was so little dust, probably because it had been buried on top of dozens upon dozens of other items. Had she not remembered it being there in that leather chest, just inches away from her face every second she was sleeping soundly in this very room? How come she didn't remember anything about the last suit her mother wore before she died?

No… she remembered something else entirely…

"There's more under here," Andi spoke to them, rummaging through the chest again, and pulled out a matching colored pair of boots, gloves, and a mask, "It's… it's Teardrop's old costume."

"Yeah," Melody mouthed, still having difficulty believing the existence of the jumpsuit that she held in her hands in front of her. She was like a fish out of water, her mouth opening and closing without any words coming out of it, before turning back to Andi, "Is there… anything else?"

"There's not much else, here," The smaller girl said as she double-checked the emptied contents of the chest, "I was hoping there would be some kind of old note somewhere."

"What, you think it just popped up there on its own?" Kira raised her eyebrow.

"You think her mother just left her memoriam in her own daughter's room without telling?"

"Well, I mean, it doesn't necessarily have to be Melody's chest," Kira remarked, "We've seen a photo album belonging to the whole family. I don't know, maybe her dad left it there."

"No," Melody suddenly interjected, "No, I remember… touching this before. It was… God, how long was it?"

"It must be really old, then," Kira said in awe, rubbing her fingers against the hem of the sleeves, "This thing must've gone through a lot of winning battles."

"Except for her last one," Melody mumbled under her breath. Both Andi and Kira hung their heads, seemingly feeling that they had treaded dangerously thin ice. They didn't need to be told twice about who Teardrop was to Melody, and how the passing of a mother could affect her children. It was best to assume that they shouldn't pry into that detail of her past, keeping in mind at how Melody would react if they did. Melody herself, however, felt something else churning inside her stomach, and it wasn't whatever imaginary longing that the two feared.

"Well, if anything," Andi finally said after a suffocating silence between them passed, "You'll definitely look good in that outfit."

When mentioned, the redhead looked at her with a blank expression. Her thoughts practically unreadable through her eyes. It was at this moment that Andi knew that she had snapped some sort of restraint on her friend. Kira's head then turned so quickly, her eyes were already bulging when she glared at the shorter girl, "What are you doing?!"

"Well, I thought it was her size when I first looked at it!" Andi stammered, trying to defend herself, "If she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to!"

"Wow, I can't believe you're _that_ insensitive…" Kira said in exasperation.

"Oh, like _you're_ any better."

"Guys, seriously," Melody interrupted with a chuckle, "I doubt if I'd look anything like my mom."

"Oh, no, no, no! We're not trying to compare you or anything," Andi backtracked, putting up both her hands in a defensive manner, "Besides, you already look like a real hero on your own."

Melody seemed to stop completely, before looking back at Teardrop's costume while uttering; "A real hero on my own?"

How could she possibly seem like a real hero? When she had caused a catastrophe to not only her class but the entire female's dorm, she couldn't do anything. When Clara insulted her family inside of her own home, she didn't do anything. And now thinking that her dad might have heard every insult aimed at his late wife's memories by a child whose father was a childhood friend of that same late-wife, she was already lost in trying to figure out how she could make up for it. Acting as if she was moving forward all the time and never looked back, but who was she kidding? Every step she took only reminded her more of her mother, who she couldn't have possibly hoped to reach. And there was that lingering memory in her mind, still fogged with time, that kept on haunting her. Just where did she touch this costume? Obviously, if it was sitting just inches from her sleeping face, there must be some kind of point in time where she had encountered it before.

She looked back at the costume. And as if time had stopped, she was suddenly given some sort of epiphany. "Hey, guys," Melody called out to her two friends, "I'll be back in a bit."

When they saw her getting up from the edge of the bed and readying to leave with the costume still in her hands, Andi called out, "Where are you going?"

"Just… wanting to remember something,"


	26. Chapter 25: Fire and Pizza (Finale)

**Alright guys, here is the final chapter before the start of the next arc. I'll try and get it done this weekend but of course no promises. Hope you all enjoy!**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

Some time passed as Kira and Andi were left on their own, the owner of the bedroom nowhere to be seen. As they started noticing more things in Melody's bedroom than they did before, they realize how cramped it must've been for both Nathan and her to share a bed together when they were small, or how uncomfortable it must have been to study in a desk that was just barely large enough to leave space for her knees, or how her room window was practically looking at another building, not giving the room enough light even with the hanging lamp on. Even to them, the state of the room itself began to feel like they were confining the girls every second in silence. "Five bucks says you can't get Mondronen to sit on the floor with a slice of pizza," Kira said to Andi out of boredom.

"Make that ten," The latter replied with confidence. And before they knew it, the bedroom door swung open slowly, creaking as it did. A figure stood just in front of them, coming into view under the shine of the hanging light. Both Kira and Andi expected that Melody had returned, but their mouths dropped immediately at the sight of her.

"So, what do you guys think?" The redhead said.

"What do we—" Kira stopped mid-sentence before shaking her head, trying to make sure she wasn't seeing wrong, "Wow… I mean, yeah, I guess Andi was right…"

"Really? It's a little big in certain areas," Melody said again.

"It's… Well, it definitely needs some fixes in certain areas…" Andi said, nodding albeit slowly and rather unsurely. She wasn't lying, Melody could definitely feel a lot of space in her chest area. When she looked down, eyeing the aquamarine blue lines that stopped right under her ribcage, encircling the large blue teardrop insignia, she realized the small wrinkles that build up just underneath her bust. She shook her hands, having them covered with large hems of sleeves, watching the small frilled ends shake in response.

"Hmm… I really dig the material a lot," Melody mused, "Feels like something from a scuba diving suit but more… comfortable."

"Yeah…" Kira awkwardly responded, "Not to be rude or anything, but I think that design could only fit your mo—I mean… Teardrop."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Kira," Melody chastised with a rather sour expression, "Not every hero uses the same costume."

"I think it's less of the design and more of the… Uhhh…" Andi told her with the same amount of odd discomfiture towards the redhead. Then, the shorter girl gestured to her chest. More specifically; her breasts. When Melody looked down again, she realized what they were talking about: the v-neck of Teardrop's jumpsuit was a better fit for a bigger bust, as it would be too low for something otherwise. And in Melody's case, she was definitely showing way more of herself than she wanted too. So that was why they seemed so uncomfortable looking at her.

"… I think I might've not thought of this through," Melody said to herself, feeling a rising blush on her cheeks.

"D-don't worry about it! You look better than I expected," Kira reassured her, joyfully clapping her hands in conviction, "Oh, and, besides, you still haven't worn the accessories!"

The pyromancer then picked up two boots and a pair of gloves, while some of her fingers squeezed in the little face mask and offered all of them to Melody with a smile full of eagerness. Melody glanced at Andi, who was also seemingly keen into seeing her wear her mother's accessory. Without much thinking, Melody sighed in defeat, reaching out to grab the boots, gloves, and mask. It didn't take her long to remove her shoes and exchanged them for the boots, while she fitted in the gloves on her hands and placed the mask over her eyes. In an instant, she definitely felt the difference. It was as if a breeze flowed through her body. Her skin was kept cool by some sort of circulating system, even her boots felt light.

"Woah," She breathed out, looking at her left and right hands over and over again, "Trippy."

"Damn," Said Kira as got off from the bed and approached the redhead with ecstatic joy splattered on her face, "You look really good in those! It really fits you!"

"Minus the breasts, of course," Andi chirped. When Kira gave another disbelieved stare, Andi merely shrugged, "What? It's true."

"Okay, let's not talk about my boobs for the rest of the day," Melody deadpanned, staring blankly at both Andi and Kira through her mask. However, if she could be honest with herself, she felt happy. Almost as if she had found the fulfillment that she had been looking for. She couldn't stop looking at herself from checking every nook and cranny that her eyes could find. So, this was how her mother felt while superheroing? A small grin formed on her lips. She stared at the palm of her hands in some sort of trance before something flashed across her eyes… "Ah!" Melody yelled under her breath, pulling back her head in shock.

Kira noticed her sudden yelp and immediately went in to close their distance with worry etched across her face, completely taking over the joy that she had earlier. "Hey! What's wrong, Mel?"

Andi also stood up, she walked over to her friends seemingly trying to find whatever had made Melody shriek like that. "Nothing… Nothing…" Melody said in between her panting, her eyes still affixed to her palms. Almost as if she was checking if there was anything wrong with her hands.

"Is it your hands? What happened, Melody?" Andi squeaked in distress, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.

As Melody calmed down, she faced them. Her face seemingly overridden with sweat. "I… I thought I saw… I thought I saw blood all over my hands…"

There was an awful silence that overcame them. "B-blood, Mel?" Kira asked, "Are you sure?"

The girl in question couldn't even explain it. The surge was too quick for her to experience again. That brief flash, like a dark omen in her vision, took her by surprise. For less than a second, she could've sworn that she had seen blood everywhere, but she could feel it the most on the palm of her hands. Every skin that was touched by the gloves were cold and cramped like they were being held by unseen phantoms. What's worse… she could clearly remember that cold disgusting red liquid was being seeped in, not pouring out.

"What am I doing…?" Melody managed to breathe out, still looking down at her hands in apparent fear and disgust, "I shouldn't be doing this…"

"Wha—what are you talking about?!" Kira raised her voice, putting another hand on her shoulder, "If you want to change now, it's not too—"

"No, you don't understand," The redhead lowly snarled. That fierce intensity wasn't like Melody to just spout out, out of nowhere, making Kira reel back in alert. "I thought that I could… Ah, who am I kidding…?"

"It's okay, Melody. Talk to us," Andi reassured her again, seemingly standing her ground unfazed by her friend's sudden change in nature. Melody herself seemed to calm down, slowly glancing back and forth at herself and her friends.

"I… I thought that I could look like my mom when I wear this, but… I just get reminded of her death." Thousands and thousands of emotions were pulling down her heart, suffocating her chest with excruciating pain. It was as if her body was refusing her to speak to her friends, perhaps out of complete fear or pure spite towards herself. She knew that it could as well be a part of those two. Her head was wrapped with foggy headaches like thunderstorms raining nails, forcing her to remove her mask even though she knew that it wouldn't help one bit. "I wanted to be better…" She continued the moment she got the strength to keep herself stable, "Better than who I am right now. I thought… I thought wearing this could at least get me to look like what I want to be: so that I could look like my own mother… But every time I even try to think about it, I keep getting reminded that she isn't here anymore. And I'm just fooling myself trying to act like who I am not…" Both Kira and Andi exchanged glances, unable to foster any words out of their mouths.

"I'm just… sick of having to be 'Crybaby' all the time…" Melody said under her breath, almost pleading, "I know Clara is like that to everyone. I get it! But at the same time, I-I… I can't shake the feeling that she's _right_ … A-and when I think about how my dad could've heard it… how he'd hear _me_ saying that to myself… I couldn't bear—"

Her voice was silenced when a fourth voice entered.

"Melly…?" The three girls instantly turned their heads towards the end of the stairway, their hearts caught in each of their respective throats as their face flushed into a complete paleness. There stood a tall, lofty man in red hair, wearing an apron over his tubby stomach. One of his hands grasped the steel railing of the stairs, while the other held a folded apron. When the girls slowly looked at his face, they knew it would be less than what they would hope. "Dear God, Melody…" Carlyle mumbled again.

"Dad…" Melody whispered the same, unable to look at him directly. But she knew what he was most likely shocked about, "Sorry… I… I took this without permission. I'll just—" But then Melody—and her two friends beside her—were immediately met with an unspeakable amount of confusion and surprise when the towering redheaded man ran over to his daughter and hugged her tightly in his arms. They couldn't even remember how fast he must've walked to get here, just so he could scream out at the top of his lungs.

"OHHH MY DEAR MELODY'S ALL GROWN UP!" Carlyle boomed in joy. There was a little squeakiness to his voice as he kept embracing his daughter while twirling her in his arms, "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! IT FITS YOU SO NICELY, MY SWEET! OHHHH YOU LOOK _EXACTLY_ LIKE YOUR MOTHER, MY DEAR MELLY! OH, MY SWEETEST DAUGHTER MELODY IS NOW BIG ENOUGH TO FIT IN HER MOTHER'S FOOTSTEPS! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

Melody wasn't given enough time in her position to think straight. She seemed to have forgotten whatever she was thinking of saying before this. "Dad… okay… I… Dad!... DAD, LET ME DOWN!"

Carlyle stopped after a few more twirls, as per Melody's orders, before letting her go completely. But he wasn't done just yet, as he still had his whole face split into an abnormally joyous smile. "Oh, my sweet! How I've waited for this day! Okay! Okay! You stand there and don't move while I—"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Melody raised her voice just to match his. A few seconds passed as she slowly regained enough balance to stand on her own two feet and asked; "You're not… angry?"

"Angry? Why would I be angry!?" Carlyle asked back in incredulity, "I put your mother's costume in your toy box when I promised that you'd someday use it, remember?"

' _Of course!'_ Melody screamed inside her own mind, ' _That leather chest used to be a toybox, so that's why there were so many of Nathan's stupid little scratching posts!'_ Both Kira and Andi approached the two with the same unbelievably bewildered expressions. While Melody was still trying to dig through her memories to see if there was anything that she left out that Carlyle might remember. She looked back at her dad with an addled expression and slowly said, "So… the time I last saw this costume was…"

"Yep! When I accidentally burned your mom's trophy shelf, which at the time had this costume on display, while cooking dinner!" Carlyle said with a hearty laugh, reminiscing back to his past memories, "You were so worried at the time and begged me to store it in your room!"

"… I did that?" Melody muttered under her breath. A second paused, then another, and another. Melody was in her thoughts again, seemingly still refusing to believe that anything like what Carlyle had explained was her doing. Kira and Andi could see her face darkening again, and almost immediately that they began to worry. But then Carlyle placed a hand on her shoulder, then her cheek, and lifted her by the chin.

"You were just four at the time… and we just got better from going to your mom's funeral. But I guess… you were still clinging on to her, even months after. Seeing how you were still too small to understand how to let go while your entire life is surrounded by Harmony's greatness…. I did my best to father you on my own, but I knew I didn't do my best because you were still trying to find—even now you still are! —some way to replace what used to be your mother figure…"

The more she listened, the more she felt like she was taken back to the old days, where she had just got the news that Teardrop was killed by her own sidekick. The more she listened, the more she realized how very naïve she must've been to wish that there must be some way she could repay her mother's debts to the world. Even now she knew that, unconsciously, that was what she was doing. She had gotten so worked up over not being able to do anything, angry because someone else had insulted her bloodline, all because she thought she was the replacement of Teardrop.

"Hehe… I couldn't hold myself back when I saw you in that suit," Carlyle sheepishly said, "Because I knew in time you could be a great hero just like your mother. Maybe even better! I'm still waiting for the time where you can prove that you're a great hero all by yourself!"

Melody said nothing. She awkwardly glanced straight ahead at her father before looking down at the floor, her expression seemingly unchanging, making her thoughts hard to read. Even her two friends were wondering what she could possibly be wondering at this moment. But the two decided not to say anything either because regardless of what just happened, they were still worried. It was then that Carlyle straightened his back and laughed again, "Well, I better pull out those pizzas from the ovens! Can't leave the customers waiting with their stomachs growling! You kids should come down anytime soon. Oh, and, if you want to join me, I'm getting ready to take out some of the pizzas out of the oven, and cook the rest…"

He held out his hand and presented a clean white apron, seemingly just her size. Without saying anything, his daughter accepted it, before Carlyle gave Melody one last forehead kiss and ruffled her hair before jogging down towards the stairs. "Love you, my Melly dear! Just wear that costume when you go down!" He shouted at the top of his lungs just as he disappeared. Andi and Kira's eyes were affixed to the towering man, seemingly still bewildered by how energetically joyous he was at the presence of his own daughter. The both of them then averted their eyes to Melody at the same time, who was, again, still silent. This time, however, she was looking at the hand that held the apron, her expression hidden from behind.

"You… uhh… you okay?" Kira said, tapping on the redhead's shoulder.

"Yeah," The answer was almost instant. It seemed like Melody wasn't thinking, after all. Or she might be out of her trance for now, "I guess I got weird over nothing."

When Kira and Andi walked up beside her, they saw a soft smile gleaming under the dim afternoon light that broke through the windows of the living room. For a second, the antennae girl could see her chuckling to herself while still staring at her apron, just enough to be softly heard in the silence around them. Taking another look at her own gloves, Melody saw… nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a matching colored light green glove. She could still feel the warmth surging all over her after Carlyle had embraced her tightly as if taking away all of her initial worries. The overwhelming coldness, the unbearable sting in her head, and the blood on her hands were all gone.

"Hey, umm…" Kira started, "Sorry for forcing you to wear those."

"Yeah, no, it's okay," Melody reassured her, "Look, gimme some time to get out of this getup. Don't want to wear this to the table, after all. Besides, I still got to take out the greasy pizzas out of the ovens."

"Alright," Andi smiled, "So, meet you downstairs?"

"Oh! Let me help with the pizzas!" Kira enthusiastically said. Helping Melody was what she came to do, after all.

Andi chuckled at that, "Don't worry, Mel. I'll keep an eye in case Kira starts burning the spoons and forks."

"Oi," Said the pyromaniac in annoyance.

"Thanks, guys," Melody said to them with a smile, interjecting their conversation, "I must've looked really embarrassing, wailing in front of you guys like that."

"Hey, it's okay!" Kira patted her on her shoulder, "I should've realized sooner that things were weighing you. I could've done more than just cry non-stop on your shoulder this morning."

"I mean. In hindsight, Kira admitted that she cried more than you did," Said Andi, hiding her snort as she turned her head away. But the second that she did, Kira quickly pulled her long antennae ears without her noticing. And immediately yelped in pain, regretting her decisions, "Ow! Ow! Ow! Not the ears! I'm sorry! I'll stop!"

Melody couldn't be happier to live in that moment, knowing both her friends saw her as Melody Halloway, not Teardrop. Of course, having been the one that supposedly became Kira's shoulder to cry on, she couldn't help but feel that perhaps she had been. She was unsure, she wouldn't deny that. But to know that the reason she had forgotten a lot of important things in her childhood was that she had refused to look at herself further than the reach of her mother's legacy made her realize something.

Like her father had told her, Teardrop used to be such a pivotal point in her life that she had forgotten the most important thing to remember after she died: that she was her mother's kid, not _Harmony_ herself. That meant she had her own life to fulfill; her own purpose. And even if she knew how important it was to remember Teardrop's legacy, what mattered was how she would learn from it. "We'll always be here for you, girl," Kira nodded exaggeratingly, seemingly satisfied with herself, "Alright, then! We'll go down first and wait for you there."

"Sounds good to me," Melody nodded, "Again, sorry for making a big fuss."

"Don't worry about it," Andi told her, smiling, "Just make sure that you cook the best dang pizza when you get down."

"Of course, I will," Melody said, "Clara betted that I couldn't make something decent, after all. I'm more than willing to shove her words into her own mouth and make her eat that."

"Just don't take your time with Nathan too long, got that?" Kira teased.

The redhead only rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now get out before I kick you downstairs. Don't forget to take the spoons and forks with you."

Both Andi and Kira bid her friend goodbye. Seemingly satisfied with themselves. For the two, as they walked downstairs together, it was as if they could breathe a sigh of relief. And for Melody was the fact that she had rediscovered something about herself, and was happy to know that she could be better after all. It was like that fight she had with Clara on the rooftops, and she needed to be reminded yet again that it took more than a parent's status to make a hero. Returning back to the kitchen after changing back to her usual attire, having realized Kira and Andi would have probably already gone back to rejoin their friends, she was met with Nathan again. He came up just in time as she got down from the stairs, turning to the corner of the stairwell and finding him washing his hands. The half-leopard boy perked his head up. Melody knew if he had cat ears, they would stand straight. "Back already?" He asked his childhood friend

Melody scratched the back of her head, "Yeah. Are Kira and Andi outside?"

"Yep. Just took the drinks with them," Nathan said, turning off the faucet of the large sink, "Anthony's cooking the last two big ones with your dad. I assume he wanted you to help?"

Looking at the folded apron on her hands, it was clear that he was referencing to that, "Yeah. The large pepperoni, right?"

"Yep."

"Cool," The redhead said in return, before realizing something, "Wait, what do you mean 'back already'?"

The instant she had asked that question, Nathan was already approaching towards her while drying his hands on a piece of cloth. "Well, I assumed you'd take your time enjoying yourself longer, considering how much fun I've seen you had playing dress-up," He said with a smirk. Before Melody could comprehend her shock and ask him how he could've known, Nathan reached his hand into the front pocket of his white apron and pulled out a smartphone. As he placed it in front of her eyes, she was met with a photo of herself in Teardrop's suit, taken from the gaps of the railings from the stairway. Immediately, her face became flustered completely, before shrieking into the air.

"UWAAAAH! NATHAN YOU IDIOT!"

"Woah! Hey! Haha! Chill! Chill!" Said the feline-boy as he was fighting the redhead's punches. He should've thought twice before taunting her before because he almost forgot how strong Melody was, and how ruthless she could become. Just from holding her back as she tugged at his collar, he could already feel himself facing some kind of rabid uncontrollable wild animal.

"IF I DON'T SEE THAT DELETED IN THE NEXT TEN SECONDS, I SWEAR TO GOD, NATHAN, I'M GONNA—"

"W-why?! I don't think you look bad at all!" Nathan tried pleading as she was beginning to suffocate him from her weight pressing down on his chest alone.

"I don't care! Just give me the damn phone!" Her hand was reaching out past his ear, trying to grasp the phone that he held.

Nathan outmaneuvered here by tucking his tail and retreated back a few steps, still apparently trying to calm her down, "Hey! Whoa! I'm not kidding, you know! I mean, obviously, I've been curious if you'd look like your mom at all!"

"What?" Melody said in confusion, stopping her attacks.

Nathan gave a rather awkward shrug as if he had just realized how embarrassing it might've been for him to say that, "Weeeell… Considering, how you'd always look up to your mom, I would've thought you'd try putting on her cape sooner or later…" Hearing that, the redhead slowly hung her head. " _Is that really how everyone pictured me?"_ She thought to herself. "But honestly…" Nathan then began hiding his face, "You'd look better as your own hero."

Melody looked up, wondering if she had just heard right. She was always the first one to know what Nathan would say at times like this, and she would've definitely expected him to start getting cocky, most likely trying to find a way to playfully blackmail her with the picture that he had just taken. Even if she knew that he wasn't actually being serious, it was also very annoying of him; and Melody knew how Nathan would just love to annoy her. "I mean, I know how great it'd sound like if you'd become Teardrop 2.0, but honestly, I think the suit would just give the current Melody Halloway a little spice," He commented, seemingly drifting off into thought. God knew what he was picturing about when he snapped out of it a second later, "Anyways, if it wasn't for your red hair, you'd look exactly like her."

She didn't know why, but she felt like something had suddenly started flying around in her stomach. Probably because she needed reassurance from someone who knew her better than the others, other than her dad, of course. But deep inside she knew it might be something else. The redhead would almost call him 'sweet'. "You're such an idiot, you know that?" Melody sighed in defeat, "If I see that photo on anyone else's phone I'm gonna beat you up with it."

"Oof, so quick with the threats," Nathan winced in response, "I take back what I said about you being hero material."

"Like you're any different, pervert," She scoffed, leaving the leopard hybrid a figure frozen from shock at what he had just heard, "So, are you going to help taking out the rest of the food, too, or what?"

"Well… I was thinking I should leave it to you," Said Nathan, watching her unfold her apron and putting it on.

"Right. Well, man the tables, then. See if there are any more customers coming." And with that she began reaching up to her hair, tying it with a rubber band that she had found inside the front pocket of her apron. She let go of her ponytail, shaking her head briefly to make sure that it stood in place, before jabbing Nathan sharply on the side of his torso as she strode past him.

The human cat surely had expected that, but he knew it was his fault for taking the picture anyway. "Could've been more subtle…" He groaned in pain.

He's right. She should be more subtle. This was a story about everyone, not just hers or even her mother's. Even if she had wanted it to be. When Carlyle spoke to her; when he had shown the smallest amount of sadness reminiscing about the months he had wasted taking care of her with Harmony gone, Melody realized just how very insignificant the role of Teardrop's greatness had in her life. Granted, being circled around by people who were once a respected colleague of Harmony's, she had to be reminded of it every single day. However, it had somehow stopped bothering her when her childhood friend told her of how he had actually felt when looking at her. Subtlety; because not everything had to rage against the dying of the light. "H-hey… Here's the pepperoni you guys ordered," A stuttering Anthony said when he noticed Melody coming up to him while he was preparing to take out a still-hot pizza out of the fire from the oven, "Careful… Use mittens if you must…"

"Sorry I couldn't be here earlier, Anthony," Melody said as she helped set up the circular tray for him to place the pizza on, right next to another one which she assumed belonged to the larger table of her party as well.

"O-oh! It's okay, Melody, really," Anthony reassured her, carefully placing the giant pizza peel aside, "Mr. Halloway wouldn't let me shove it all to you, anyways…"

Poor him, Melody thought. She did try to get her father to loosen up a bit on the poor worker, but it seemed like nothing much had changed. Furthermore, she couldn't really do anything to help, either. Anthony was under Carlyle's jurisdiction by default, so any words she had would go against basic non-chain restaurant rules. "ANTHONY!" Then boomed a voice from some other side of the kitchen, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WE'VE GOT TWO MORE ORDERS, DAMMIT! HURRY YOUR ASS UP WITH THAT PIZZA BEFORE YOU RUIN ANYTHING ELSE!"

The young adult in question grimaced, but it didn't take him long to regain his posture, "G-guess I have somewhere else to be! Haha… I-is it okay if I leave these to you, Melody?"

"Of course," The redhead immediately responded, already preparing to take the pizza trays to their designated tables, "I can handle these, don't worry."

"T-thank you, Melody," Bowed Anthony before already turning around in a hurry, disappearing out of sight. She steadied her hands and picked up the two heavy trays. While carefully aligning them together, making sure that not one side of her hands was leaning too far, she proceeded to walk towards the exit door. When she got there, she didn't expect to see the dining area to be so lively. Considering how it had been some time since she rejoined her friends, she would've thought that they had gotten to one or more conversations with each other, but instead she was met with the sight of Clara Ramirez with one foot on top of the connected tables while holding Lyon McAllister's throat by the neck and aiming a steel fork at his eye. Nathan had already also seated himself on one of the tables, and he himself seemed extremely taken aback at how the situation had regressed.

"Call me fucking 'easy' again, you little coal-skulled creep! I fucking dare you, bitch!" Said the taller girl in a very rude manner.

"Oh-ho~! You misunderstand me, Clara!" Lyon said in complete cheerfulness even in the brink of being suffocated and castrated, "I never said that you would be easy. On the contrary, you are very difficult! I was just mentioning how you are always very hypocritical of yourself!"

"He's right," Eris Blackwood said with her mouth full of pizza, "You've never cooked anything in your life, have you, Clara?"

"To think she'd order fettuccini and didn't know what it meant," Lyle Wolfsbane muttered to himself, but loud enough for Clara to hear. He then proceeded to give a very condescending smirk, "Haha, imagine if someone else burned the girl's dorm down. She'd just aim for Kazani and Halloway anyways."

Most of the occupants of the table burst out laughing. Even Kira whom Melody didn't expect to be enjoying herself after being reminded that it was her fault that they were eating out. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and the redhead couldn't find anything besides the screaming terror to change her mind otherwise. It was infectious, or so to speak. Because she could feel a small smile rising from her lips. "Here's the pepperoni and Hawaiian," Melody called to the table, placing the two pizza trays with steaming hot pizza on top, "Anything else I can get you, sirs and madams?"

"Yeah!" Shouted a new voice. It was Epiphany the Ghost again, and this time she appeared out of thin air just in front of her host, who was being uncomfortably getting in the way of his salad. "You got anything worthy for the undead?"

"Epi, I'm trying to eat!" Sirius exclaimed as the phantom lied the top of her body on the table, aiming her rear at her host.

"Mel, you're seriously not letting me taste the same disgusting thing he is, do you?"

"I thought you liked plants," Andi asked her from beside the table.

"Honey, plants grow from the corpses of the living," Epiphany said with a grin, "That is to say: I also like to bathe myself in the gory beauty of blood and bile!"

"Yeah, yeah… Just don't say that kind of stuff on the dining table," Melody dismissed her, thinking that it was probably just the ghost's playful self. Besides, why would a ghost need any form of supplements? "You sure you don't want anything else, Sirius?"

"N-no, thank you!" Sirius stammered, suddenly recognizing that his name was mentioned, "I like eating salad!"

"Ugh! That's why you're so short, shrimp!" Pouted Epiphany, before she completely surprised the smaller boy by jumping on his lap and positioning herself sideways with her legs up, and her arms wrapped around his blushing neck. As the others looked away in decency, Melody turned to Kira, who had just nudged her on the side.

"Thanks for letting us eat here," she said. The redhead in question had her eyes widen a bit, before falling into a soft smile. It almost felt like it had been so long since anyone had felt grateful towards her. But alas, Kira wasn't just anyone; she was Melody's best friend.

"Yeah, this is the best pizza I've ever had," Narruk Mondronen commented as he took a slice into his mouth with a satisfied look on his face.

"Probably because dogs aren't allowed to eat fatty foods," Marcus McPherson said, eating his own slice, "Careful, you might upset your stomach."

"Funny," Oliver Ferdinand joined in, "I always thought you were the one with the sensitive stomach after—"

"A-TA-TA-TA! Let's not discuss that here, okay?" Marcus silenced his childhood friend without any hesitation as he smacked his hand over the raven-haired boy's lips. Oliver merely looked at him with blank eyes, seemingly had already expected him to do so. Watching as the table turned into another bickering mess, Melody took a step back, just enough to reach the wall on the opposite side of the table. Watching the scene unfold in front of her just showed her how much more that Harmony didn't have. This was her class, this was her friends, and this was her life. Even without Nathan, she could feel like she had known these people for years.

She was happy. That was what all that mattered to her at this moment. The smile that she gave Kira didn't disappear, it remained stuck on her lips for a little while longer. Every time she breathed, she felt like she was letting go of something that was tightening her chest. She let her arms rest behind her, taking her time enjoying herself on her own.

"Ouch!" All of a sudden, her fingers started to sting.

She lifted her hands, recognizing that familiar pain as if close to something that she thought she had left behind. But just when she thought she had seen the blood draining into the spaces between her fingerprints, there was nothing. Yet, the phantom pain was still there.

When she looked behind her, she saw a decorative potted plant with its prickly leaves were right behind her hands. With a puzzled expression, she left the scene, thinking that she had unexpectedly touched one of the sharp edges. Little did she know that the leaves began to crumble and wither not even a few seconds later…

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Oooooh spooky. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this little mini-arc. May seem unnecessary, but it was some needed character development for Melody. Let's just hop right into the preview!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO:**

 **Chapter 26: Halloween Festival: Start!**


	27. Chapter 26: Bread and Circuses

**Alright, everyone. Here it is, at long last, we reach the stereotypical Shonen tournament arc. Fair warning, due to technical issues my beta is having, we may have missed some grammatical errors. Therefore, ignore them or point them out to me via PM and I'll fix it right away. Okay, I don't wanna keep you guys long so here, as with the start of every new arc, is the opening and ending for the Halloween Festival arc.**

 **Opening: Freak Show by Zebrahead**

 **Ending: Fragments of Time by Daft Punk**

 **That's it, hope you all enjoy!**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **October 22, 2317**

Lyon wasn't quite sure what a 'Halloween Festival' was but judging from the almost visible anticipation from his classmates following their teacher's announcement, he assumed it was something he _should_ know about. ' _My, my… still so much to learn,'_ he mused, glancing around the room again to take in the looks of excitement on many of his classmate's faces. The only exceptions to this were Oliver, who always seemed to find a reason to complain about anything, and, to Lyon's amusement, Clara. The latter grinned maliciously and started her own scan of the room, perhaps imagining the ways in which she could disembowel her fellow students. It wasn't until those blood red eyes landed on him that her expression changed from enthusiasm to the cold rage she often reserved for when in his presence. ' _It seems I haven't done a very proper job of winning her over yet, either. One day perhaps.'_ Gradually, the dull roar of conversations died down as the haggard looking Derrick Holl, from what Lyon understood he and his wife had been at odds over a recent training incident, called his class to attention. Seeing an opportunity to jump in, the orange-haired boy cleared his throat. "Excuse me… It appears as if I am the only one 'out of the loop' as they say. What exactly is this Halloween Festival?"

"Seriously? You don't know what the festival is, Lyon?" Andi asked in surprise. There was a snort from somewhere behind him, and Lyon suspected that a certain magenta-haired girl had some sort of mean comment cooked up for his supposed ignorance. To his chagrin, as he rather liked his arguments with the girl, Mr. Holl cut them off with a loud whistle.

"Settle down brats! I swear you kids have too much energy. Honoka must not be doing her job right," Holl grumbled before sighing and uncapping a marker. "Okay, so I know most of you, Lyon not included, know what this festival entails but I'm required by the Council to explain everything so here we go. Every Halloween or weekend preceding the holiday, U.S.A.E.I puts on a celebration for the anniversary of the Rhode Island Seven being granted official status as the first government-sponsored Heroes. At first, this was just a normal festival with games, food booths, rides and stuff like that. However, around a hundred and fifty-ish years ago some genius on the Council decided we should try and compete with U.A's Sports Festival. Therefore, the festival was made a commercial event with a tournament between the students. Every year the format changes slightly and this year is no different. You'll each be assigned a random partner that you'll have to work alongside for the first two rounds. After that, the remaining eight participants will be reseeded and the format will shift to a one versus one until we have a grand champion crowned. Simple enough, eh?"

"So, the tournament will take place this upcoming weekend, yes?" Holl nodded and seemed to be searching for something on his desk. After a bit he made a noise of triumph and pulled a thick packet, stamped with the insignia of the Hero Council, from one of the drawers.

"Let's see. Ah, there we go. As freshmen, your only obligation is to partake in the tournament. However, as you may have noticed, your upperclassmen have been working hard over the weekend to set up the actual festival for this year. Take note, you'll have to do this the next three years here so don't go around badmouthing the decor or anything. Uh, what else? Oh, the upperclassmen, with the help of the Friedman Brothers' Circus, have chosen 'Fantasy' as the theme for this year. Your partners for the tournament will be announced tonight, so you'll have the rest of this week off to train and strategize with your partner. Many of you will be paired up with students from class FH1 so you'll have the disadvantage of not knowing each others' strengths and weaknesses."

"How are the teams decided? Would it be by class ranking?" Melody asked, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Randomizer! Sometimes Pros will have to work with whoever else is on the scene. They get a lot less prep time than you guys to figure out how to work together and overcome their obstacles. Anyway, there's a bit more to the tournament than first meets the eye but that'll all be explained on tournament day. Now, that's the end of my spiel, you've got until seven o'clock tonight to enjoy the festivities. Just make sure you're in the main plaza at that time. Otherwise, you'll miss the announcement. Class… dismissed!" Holl shouted dramatically before grabbing his teaching bag, a ratty, worn out old hiking backpack, and all but sprinting out of the room. The moment he left, the class exploded into frantic and excitement filled conversation.

"This is gonna be great! We finally get to show off how badass we are!" Kira cried, pumping her fist in the air.

"This is quite interesting. I look forward to fighting against you," Lyon said, offering his hand for Clara to shake. She glared at him, then his hand and then back up at him before snorting and smacking the offending limb away.

"Piss off." And with that, Clara followed their teachers lead and left the classroom, though… no one besides Lyon seemed to care much. Melody frowned, a heavy sense of anxiety settling in her gut. ' _I'm not cut out for fights like this. I can still only use my Quirk for a little while before I start getting headaches and that would seriously hurt my chances in a fight. I think my ideal partner would be someone like Rylee or Lyon who has some ranged attacks.'_ Her inner monologue was cut off as her black-eyed friend slung an arm around her shoulder.

"Stop looking so down! Come on, what'dya say we go check out the carnival? If they brought in the Freidman Brothers than it's sure to be awesome!"

"Why does the name 'Friedman Brothers' sound familiar" She wondered aloud, receiving a disbelieving look from Kira.

"Only because they are the biggest and most acclaimed carnival in all of North America! They travel around and put on the biggest, most imaginative carnival ever! I went to one in Boston when I was little and it was outstanding!" The girl's enthusiasm brought a smile to Melody's face but the nagging feeling that the Freidman Brothers' was associated with something bad would not leave her. She tried her best to push it to the back of her mind as she gathered up her school supplies and stood to follow Kira out the door. However, she didn't make it more than two steps out when a blond blur slammed into her abdomen and wrapped small, pudgy arms around her midsection.

"MELLY!" Brian Larson cheered as he squeezed the air out of her. Melody got over her initial shock rather quickly and hugged the boy back with a laugh before glancing up at a sheepish Nathan standing a few feet away.

"Sorry 'bout that. Little bugger ran off on me. Oi, brat! What'd mom say?"

"I gotta stay with Melly because you're too dumb?" The five-year-old boy offered innocently. Nathan growled and took a step towards the boy but stopped when he hid behind Melody, who was glaring at him intensely.

"Uh, hey Mel. Howsit goin'?" He asked sheepishly.

"Good actually. Oh, Kira you already know Nathan. This is his little, and much cuter, brother Brian," She explained. The boy took one look at Kira and frowned before hiding behind Melody's legs. "Oh stop that. She won't bite. Besides, she falls over a lot and it's funny. You two would get along."

"I resent that!" Kira protested though she was ignored by the redhead. When Brian held out his arms, asking to be held, Melody quickly complied and lifted him so that he was sitting on her shoulders, his hands resting on the top of her head.

"So what's short round doing here?" She inquired, looking at Nathan with a raised eyebrow. When the blond boy looked away a bit too quickly, her eyes narrowed and she kicked him in the shin. "Let me guess, you only agreed to take him to the festival to pick up chicks."

"No! I would never do that!" Nathan declared.

"What about the time we went to the Hero Museum last year? Or the time we went to that diner in Staten Island? Or like two weeks ago when you brought him to central park when we were supposed to be training. Oh yeah, what about–"

"Alright, alright I get it," he grumbled, cutting her off. Melody grinned at her victory before tilting her head up to look at Brian, who was merrily glancing at all of her classmates with wide eyes.

"Never take after your older brother, short round. Now, What'd you say we get going to the festival?"

"YEAH!" Brian cheered.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Melody stared in awe at the area which had once been the school's front lawn. Rides, game booths, and food trucks filled the area and that wasn't even the most surprising thing. The first thing that the quartet saw when they emerged from the academic building was a massive, medieval castle's gate and walls stretching from the dorms to the academic building, a distance of around a two hundred yards. Complete with large, flowing banners inscribed with U.S.A.E.I's insignia and what looked to be real canons lining the top of the walls, the castle was like something out of a history book. "Wicked!" Nathan exclaimed.

"When the hell? This wasn't here this morning. Er, wait… was it?" Kira turned to Melody, who was struggling to keep a rambunctious Brian secured on her shoulders. The redhead shook her head and lowered the squirming child, settling for holding his hand tightly to keep him from running off.

"No. This is pretty impressive to put together a few hours. Someone with the carnival must have a Quirk to make this easier. Looks so realistic."

"I kinda wanna see if the cannons work," Nathan said dreamily. Melody saw his fingernails begin to extend into sharp claws… claws perfect for climbing. However, he could dash off to try and climb the stone walls, a voice unfamiliar to Melody called out to him.

"Hey, Nate!"

"Nate?" The redhead said, her tone bemused. Ever since they were children, Nathan had hated it when she, or anyone else for that matter, had referred to him as anything other than 'Nathan'. The blond waived off her question and the two turned to face the newcomer, a cheerful looking boy with short, wavy brown hair and dark green eyes. Despite the fact that it was October and the weather was still fairly warm, he wore an unzipped red and black sweatshirt with a white t-shirt embroidered with a leaf underneath.

"Payton, what's up?" Nathan high-fived the boy as he arrived. For a while he said nothing as he glanced between his friend and Melody. Then he grinned and elbowed the Leopard Quirk user in his gut.

"So this is the girl you've been sneaking off to see every Saturday, huh?"

"We train! You're as bad as Benji!"

"Woah, that's cruel. Anyway, I see you've already ponied off your brother on the poor girl," Payton said, noticing the child looking longingly at the castle. What he did not notice, or rather _chose_ not to notice was, Nathan frantically waving his arms. Melody sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Every time, Nathan," she said, exasperated. The blond chuckled nervously and then proceeded to glare daggers at Payton, who ignored him. "I'm gonna have to start charging your parents a sitter's fee. I swear-"

"You never swear!" Nathan interjected.

"Again with this? What are we? Nine?"

"I take offense to that. It's funny!"

"Maybe the first fifty times…" It took a few moments for Kira and Payton to quell the argument between the childhood friends but eventually, with no small amount of tugging by Brian, the group made their way through the castle gates and were immediately assaulted by the sights, sounds, and smells of a carnival. "Wow."

"Yeah, the Friedman Brothers go hard. Bet our upperclassmen didn't have to do much of anything. Oh shit! Funnel cake!" Nathan exclaimed and grabbed Melody by her free hand. As he dragged her away, she gave one last pleading look toward Kira but the black-eyed girl seemed more preoccupied. Her face was pale and her eyes were narrowed on something deep in the crowd that Melody couldn't see. If he noticed, Payton said nothing and instead waved merrily at her. After a moment, they were lost in the crowd and the redhead resigned herself to her fate. ' _I bet he forgot his wallet too,'_ she thought glumly. "Hey Mel, can you spot me ten bucks?"

"Fine." She handed the bill over to Nathan who cheered and ran to stand in line while she led Brian over to a deserted picnic table. Almost instantly, Brian began playing 'Hero Battle!', a card game based on popular Professional Heroes around the world, with a few other kids around his age at a neighboring table. Melody smiled and, keeping an eye on the boy out of the corner of her eye lest he try and steal one of the other kids' cards, began watching the seemingly endless crowd of people stream by. She saw a few of her upperclassmen walk by, including a peppy-looking Shaula and a rather annoyed Hector dressed in medieval clothing, as well as some rather interesting characters. There was a girl dressed as a clown carrying a far too big mallet talking to a man whose face appeared to constantly change as if he got easily bored with whatever face he wore and could shift his appearance at will. At one point, she saw her own face looking back at her and felt mildly spooked. She waved to Narruk, Andrew, and Lyle as they passed by, though they didn't seem to see her in the sea of faces. Finally, Nathan returned with three large funnel cakes stacked on top of one another. She guessed he'd already eaten one on his way back, judging from the white power at either end of his mouth.

"Try it, Mel! This stuff is great!" He said happily as he tore into another. For several long minutes, they sat at their table, enjoying their treats and commenting on the passersby. "Look at that dude! How the hell does he get inside anywhere?"

"I suspect he turns his head," Melody replied dryly as Nathan pointed towards a man with the head of a hammerhead shark. There was a gleeful, childish cry from the ground beside them and Brian held up a 'Hero Battle!' card triumphantly. "Oh no, who'd you steal that from?"

"Didn't steal!" The boy protested, hugging the card against his chest protectively. "Jeremy had a extra and I didn't have this one!"

"Oh yeah? Who'd you get?" Nathan asked, leaning back so he could see around Melody. Brian grinned and held up a card depicting a massive man with coppery brown hair and wearing an equally huge set of armor. Below the picture it read:

 **The Dauntless Hero: Crusader**

 **Quirk: Unbreakable**

 **Crusader is known for his courage, recklessness, and courtesy. As of April 2317, he is ranked fifth amongst the North American Hero Population Charts.**

"Hey, that's great! Saw that guy during the Yonkers cleanup. He was helping clear the roads by running full speed and slamming into debris. Surprisingly effective when you're built like a damn tank," Nathan recalled before popping the last bit of funnel cake into his mouth. "Alright! Let's do some games and shit!"

"Language!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"FUCK!"

"LANGUAGE!" Melody scolded, smacking Nathan on the back of his head as Brian laughed hysterically. The blond glared at her before turning his attention back to the single softball left in his hand. He'd been given three of the projectiles for his five dollars, which had come from her wallet, with the simple task of knocking down five bottles stacked atop one another. Of course, as she had expected, he'd chucked his first ball with reckless abandon, missing the balls and nearly taking the head off of the poor guy running the booth, a sophomore at U.S.A.E.I. His second shot had better as he knocked down all but one bottle. That was when he swore, loud enough to turn every head in a fifty-foot radius their way. "Just throw your ball. There are a ton more games you can try out."

"Shut up, Mel. I'm concentrating." Nathan drew back his arm he threw the ball, or at least he tried to. At the moment he would have released the ball, Melody stomped on his unguarded foot and caused his ball to go wide. Coincidently, it knocked over the very next set of bottles. "AHA! Yes! I win!"

"Uh… no, that's… that's not how this works," the sophomore, Melody was pretty sure his name was Taiga, said. Even he seemed somewhat surprised by the turn of events.

"Oh come on! That was the most impressive shot ever!" Before the blond could make even more of a scene, Melody grabbed his and his brother's arms and dragged them away. This did not, in fact, deter Nathan from loudly proclaiming his supposed victory. After the booth was completely out of sight, she turned on the boy and flicked him on the nose.

"You moron! Why do you have to cause a scene everywhere you go?"

"'Snot my fault, Mel. Guy was a jerk. Totally should've counted."

"Ugh, you're impossible," she proclaimed dramatically. Nathan narrowed his eyes at her for a second before turning his attention to her hand, which still had a death grip on his forearm.

"Can you let me go now?" He asked hopefully, though that quickly dried up when she glared at him.

"Are you just gonna run back and either attack or demand a prize from Taiga?" The redhead decided that his silence was answer enough and forged ahead, completely ignoring his cries of outrage. Brian took great pleasure in seeing his brother like this and spent the entire walk laughing and throwing pieces of his unfinished funnel cake at the back of his brother's head with surprising accuracy. Eventually, Melody dragged them into a small pavilion and stopped dead at the sight before her. Floating above the assembled crowd were at least two dozen Brian-sized, tan-colored bubbles. From below the display, a girl about her age with very vivid pink hair that was styled into loops stood with a microphone. When she spoke, her peppy voice echoed loudly in Melody's ears.

"Hello~ U.S.A.E.I! My name is Kari but you can just call me Bubbles. I've got a really killer idea for you all to try out. Wanna hear it?" Despite the complete lack of a response from the crowd, save for Nathan's 'whoop', the girl's smile didn't waver. "Okay! My challenge to everyone out there in the crowd is… defeat my Indestructa-Bubbles! Sounds easy, huh? Not so fast. Over the past year since I joined the Friedman family, I've done shows in fifty cities and not ONE person has been able to accomplish this. Therefore, I extend the challenge to you! Just retrieve the gold coin from inside any of my bubbles and you win! Full Quirk usage is allowed and I won't tell if you don't! Anyone interested please come to the front here!"

"Please, that's ridiculous. It's obviously a scam."

"Says the guy who just threw a tantrum because he lost one of these scams," Melody replied dryly. Nathan rolled his eyes at her and, despite his previous statement, was amongst the first ones in line. As she started looking around for a place to stand and watch her friend embarrass himself, Brian let out a squeaky shriek.

"THEY HAVE HERO BATTLE! CARDS!" He cried, pointing to the rack of prizes situated behind Kari the bubble girl. Melody knew what was going to happen next and simply let Brian lead her to a spot at the end of the line. Before long, it became clear that Kari's declaration was true. Her bubbles really were unbreakable. After the first few people failed, the ones that followed began taking the girl up on her offer of Quirk usage. The poor bubbles were burned, soaked in acid, blown up, frozen, and stabbed but still they held firm. Even Nathan's claws were no match for them, much to his chagrin. Once it became clear that he couldn't penetrate the sphere, he stalked over to Melody and Brain dejectedly. The line got shorter and shorter but by the time it was finally her turn, Melody was surprised no one had broken the bubbles. ' _How the heck am I gonna do this? People with far stronger Quirks than mine haven't been ab… wait, she didn't say anything about actually popping the bubbles, did she? No, She just said we had to retrieve the coin. Hey, my Quirk is actually useful for once, look at that.'_

"You got it, Mel!" Nathan cheered as she stepped up to the closest bubble. The redhead closed her eyes and almost immediately felt the cold sensation of her body changing. Then, something happened that she hadn't anticipated. Usually when she entered her Wraith form, she… well, it was hard for her to describe. All of her senses, except for sight of course, completely vanished. This time, though… it was as if someone had taken her normal senses and tripled them. She heard every intake of breath from every person in the crowd as they saw her ghostly figure, she smelled the rather appropriate bubblegum scented perfume from Kari, and she felt even the smallest disturbance in the wind around her. At first, it was rather off putting and she nearly lost control of herself. Reigning herself in and deciding to focus on this new development later, she reached forward, her hand easily phasing through the bubble and wrapped around the coin, which turned the same shade of icy blue as her skin. Once her arm had emerged and she returned to her normal state, feeling slightly disoriented after the experience, she dropped the coin into a shocked Kari's palm and grabbed the pack of Hero cards from the shelf. "Holy shit! That… was… awesome! I would have never thought to use your Quirk like that!"

"That's because you rarely think," Melody retorted as she handed the cards to Brian, who greedily tore away the foil wrapping. Nathan looked as if he were about to retort when his eyes widened and the hair on his tail stood straight up. Concerned, the redhead turned around and came face to face with a tall, smiling woman. Her hair was coal black and it looked as if she had red extensions interwoven into it, her eyes were whiskey colored, and she had an almost perfect figure.

"Very impressive, young lady," she said, her voice like silk. "You have such good control over your Quirk. I'm guessing you're a student here?"

"Uh, yeah. A freshman," Melody stammered back, still slightly concerned about Nathan's reaction. The woman tilted her head and her eyes ran up and down the redhead's body.

"Very interesting. You must be very talented to be enrolled here. Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Lydia."

"I'm Melody and this is Nathan and Brian," she replied. Brain waved absentmindedly at her, perhaps only reacting because he heard his name as he never took his attention away from his new cards. Nathan meanwhile just looked at the woman as if she were a giant cockroach. ' _What's wrong with him?'_

"Pleasure. Now, I assume you two will be taking part in the tournament this weekend?" When Melody nodded the woman's smile seemed to grow larger. Suddenly though, her phone began to ring with some pop song Melody had heard on the radio. The woman pulled it from her purse and pursed her lips at whatever she saw on the screen. "I must take this. I really look forward to seeing the two of you in action."

"That was odd," Melody stated plainly. She turned back to Nathan, expecting him to agree, but his eyes were still locked onto the back of the retreating woman, now talking animatedly with someone over the phone. "What's wrong?"

"Something about that woman was... off," he said vaguely, rubbing his cheek with one hand. "My instincts were screaming for me to take Brian and run. Normally it takes a Villain or rain to spark that kinda response. Weird."

"You're saying she's a Villain?" Melody asked seriously, turning her head to try and follow the woman but she was already lost in the crowd. Nathan frowned and shook his head as if trying to shake away his thoughts.

"Nah, probably just the funnel cake giving me a sugar high. Anyway, wanna try a few more games?"

"Are you gonna cry every time you lose?"

"No/Yes!" Nathan and Brain answered simultaneously, getting a genuine smile out of Melody. ' _Larson men are all the same.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

As she walked away, 'Lydia' pressed the answer button on her phone and held it up to her ear. Immediately, the sound of a raspy, sickly voice greeted her. "Vesuvius. How's the carnival?"

"Master Plague, an honor as always. The carnival is as boring as always but the real fun starts soon. I assume you want me sticking around to watch the fights?" Vesuvius inquired, twirling a strand of her obsidian locks between her fingers. The voice on the other end made a grunt of confirmation and then there was a sound like rustling papers. "Late night at the office? Want me to come by… help you alleviate some stress?"

"No," Plague chuckled. The shuffling continued for another five or so seconds until the boss seemed to have found what he was looking for and began to speak. "Also, you're gonna meet up with your contact among the students. Get any info you can about private lives, hobbies, fears, the like. These students are a future problem and I'd like to be prepared for that day. Understood?"

"Yes, master. Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. How is that rabid mutt healing up? It'd be such a shame for him to die after you've put so much effort into his well being," Vesuvius purred.

"Spitfire's fine. Should be waking up any day now but Switch's been saying that for two weeks. Once he's awake, I'm gonna call together the Five Generals to go over our next course of action. Stay in contact," Plague said before hanging up. Vesuvius sighed and returned the phone to her purse before glancing over her shoulder. ' _Melody Halloway. My, my… you certainly do have your mother's eyes. It was almost too much to bear.'_ The edges of Vesuvius' lips twitched slightly before her expression turned grim. ' _It also seems that her powers are progressing faster than anticipated. She could soon be on par with the Reaper himself,'_ she mused, then scowled and turned off into a less crowded area of the carnival. ' _So why, Vesuvius, did you not report her presence to Master Plague? To think you still have feelings for that traitor, how pathetic. After everything you've done to forget the past. Nevertheless, pray we never meet under more hostile circumstances, Melody Halloway. I won't make the same mistake twice.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

By the time Melody and Nathan had dropped off a tuckered out Brian with a cheery Veronica Larson and scrambled back to the main plaza, it was nearly seven o'clock. The area was completely clear of any civilians and a large television screen, displaying a black bracket with sixteen open spaces on it, hung above the amassed group of students. Once he saw them enter, Mr. Holl nodded and tapped his finger on the microphone in his hand. "Alright, now that everyone is present. Let me explain how this is gonna work. Fairly simple, one by one the teams will be announced up here on the board, as will your opponents for round one. You'll have the whole week off school work to prepare for these battles so I suggest you use it wisely. Also, pre-tournament sabotage is strictly looked down upon."

"But not forbidden," Nathan whispered to Melody, who elbowed him in response. She saw Holl's eyes flick over to them briefly but he never stopped his speech.

"Costumes and gadgets produced by the school are allowed, but any outside tech has to be cleared with me or Mr. Forrester. Yes, Miss Kazani this does mean you can take your costumes out for training. You kids have got to get used to the things and think of any improvements before you start your training. Now, let's get started!" Holl declared. On the video board, scrambles letters flashed over the first spot on the bracket. When the two names finally became clear, there was a roar of outrage.

 **Clara Ramirez-Sirius Wilsk**

"Sirius!? He's fucking worthless!" Clara raged. On the other end of the stage, Sirius's head dropped and Epiphany glared daggers at their new teammate. ' _I have a feeling that's gonna end poorly,'_ Melody mused as the second set of names, and the first battle appeared.

 **Lyle Wolfbane-Lilia Ayria**

"Great. I have to deal with _that_ headache," Lyle lamented. Lilia, a dark-haired girl with silver eyes, glanced at the boy, intrigued. And with that, the floodgates were opened and teams were announced one after the other.

 **Kenny Phillips-Narruk Mondronen**

"Kenny?" Narruk called, causing a boy Melody recognized as her third teammate from the entrance exam to raise his hand. ' _Huh, so he did make it in.'_

"That's me. I look forward to working with you."

 **Jahaziah Cortes-Jake Schmiede**

"Oh great," Jahaziah muttered to himself, while Jake just sat silently and watched the board intently.

 **Benjamin Wallaby-Hazel Aria**

"Sweet!" Benji cried and pumped his fist, while Hazel took one look at the boy and sighed.

"Poor Hazel," Melody muttered. Nathan nodded his agreement and glanced over at the boy, who sidled up next to Hazel eagerly.

 **Melody Halloway-Nathan Larson**

"Of course," Melody groaned, while Nathan jumped for joy. ' _Why couldn't it be someone else?'_

"We've got this in the bag!"

 **Marcus McPherson-Eris Blackwood**

"Wait, who's Marcus again," Eris whispered to the boy sitting next to her, who rolled his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I am."

 **Liam Heartsworth-Kindra Kingsly**

"He's somewhat useful I suppose," Kindra said as she studied her partner, who didn't look very impressed.

"'Somewhat useful'?" The boy murmured to himself.

 **Damien Chase-Oliver Ferdinand**

"Lucky him," Nathan whispered, pointing to a boy with very pale skin and an intense look in his eyes. The boy barely seemed fazed over his name appearing while Oliver studied the boy for several seconds before yawning and slumping into his chair with his eyes closed. "Strongest in our class."

"Unlucky _him_ , Oliver is the biggest slacker in our class."

 **Rylee Ingram-Saroya Sawyer**

"I'm not losing again. I don't know who Saroya is but we are winning this thing!" Rylee said under her breath. Beside her, Andi smiled sympathetically and patted her on the shoulder. Meanwhile, across the pavilion, Saroya merely shrugged.

 **Vivienne Ochoa-Zachary Cross**

"Let's try our best I suppose," Zachary muttered to his teammate sitting beside him, who looked just as unenthused as Oliver.

 **Dominique Wufu-Ryūken Togake**

"Cool, let's win this thing," Ryūken said with a grin. Meanwhile, Dominique frowned and began playing with the hem of her shirt, seemingly embarrassed to be directly addressed by her teammate.

 **Lyon MacAllister-Andi Ena**

"Let's make a good team, yes?" Lyon asked, suddenly appearing Andi who jumped and held a hand to her chest.

"Yeah!" She said happily after recovering from her brief shock.

 **Andrew Abrams- Kira Kazani**

"You can pick me up with your gravity when I fall!" Kira grinned, smacking her partner on the back. Andrew raised an eyebrow at her, bemused.

"Uh, sounds good?"

 **Alexander Blackwood-Payton Billé**

"Don't hold me back," Alex growled to the cheerful Canadian walking up to him.

"Wouldn't count on it. Can I call you Alex?" Payton replied, clearly unphased by the boy's dismissive attitude.

"No."

 **Diana Suharto-Vanessa Monteur**

"Géniale. We will win," Vanessa spoke confidently, though her thick French accent made it difficult for Diana's already poor hearing to make out.

"Uh, yeah!" Melody frowned as she stared up at the video screen. ' _To get to the finals, we'll have to go through Hazel and Benji and potentially Marcus and Eris. I know the basics of their Quirks but nothing about the other two. Hopefully, Nathan has been paying attention in his classes… we're screwed.'_

"That's the last of the teams. Study your matchups and be ready. Those of you paired up with students of the other class will have to rely on the information gathering skills of your partner for the enemies you know nothing about. Saturday, you fight for glory, for the school, and most importantly to get your name on the map. You get one chance every year. Waste it and you can kiss any notion you have of getting into a good agency goodbye. Do your best!"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Just like I have for every student v student event so far these teams were randomized. Anyway, if you can't figure them out from the list above, here are the first round matchups. Let me know who you think will win.**

 **Match 1: Clara Ramirez-Sirius Wilsk vs. Lyle Wolfbane-Lilia Ayria**

 **Match 2: Narruk Mondronen-Kenny Phillips vs. Jahaziah Cortes-Jake Schmiede**

 **Match 3: Melody Halloway-Nathan Larson vs. Benjamin 'Benji' Wallaby-Hazel Aria**

 **Match 4: Marcus McPherson-Eris Blackwood vs. Liam Heartsworth-Kindra Kingsly**

 **Match 5: Damien Chase-Oliver Ferdinand vs. Rylee Ingram-Saroya Sawyer**

 **Match 6: Vivienne Ochoa-Zachary Cross vs. Dominique 'Nikki' Wufu-Ryuken Togake**

 **Match 7: Lyon MacAllister-Andi Ena vs. Andrew Abrams-Kira Kazani**

 **Match 8: Alexander Blackwood-Payton Billé vs. Diana Suharto-Vanessa Monteur**

 **For the second round, it breaks down like this:**

 **Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2**

 **Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4**

 **Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6**

 **Winner of Match 7 vs. Winner of Match 8**

 **And then the teams will be split up and reseeded into a 1v1 style for the final 8. At the moment I am** _ **planning**_ **to completely write every fight. I want every character to get at least a moment in the spotlight. However, if there's little interest in seeing a fight between students we've never met, then I may write a fight or two short forms (and by that, I mean showing the final moments). Alright, that's it from me. Have a great weekend and Happy Birthday America!**

 **EDIT 7/5/19: Damn, forgot to add a teaser. Here you go!**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO**

 **Chapter 27: The Sound Hero's Burden**


	28. Chapter 27: The Sound Hero's Burden

**October 27, 2317**

Melody stared in awe at the massive, colosseum-like stadium that had been erected seemingly overnight in the empty lot beside U.S.A.E.I's western border. They were led from their dorms by their history teacher, Ms. Whittaker — why she was taking them to the stadium and not Mr. Holl Melody didn't know — to a pair of metal doors around the backside of the stadium, each marked 'NO ENTRY'. Once she reached the doors, Elvira spun around to face them, her face full of excitement and her usual cheeriness. When she spoke, her voice was marred by a heavy southern accent. "Okay, students! Let's go over a bit of this here tournament. Y'all have about twenty-five minutes until the opening ceremonies. Use that time to get into costume and finalize any strategies you and yer partner may have. Once they call you, listen for yer team number and be on yer best behavior. This is bein' broadcast internationally, the whole world's watchin' for even the littlest screw-up. Y'all only got four chances to show yer stuff to the Pros. Screw up and you can start kissin' any ideas of being a Hero goodbye. Now, head to your lockers and dressin' rooms and suit up!"

"Very inspiring talk," Nathan whispered sarcastically to Melody, who suppressed a smile and shushed him. Contrary to the rest of the freshmen, who mostly looked too nervous or anxious to be enjoying themselves, Melody was doing just that. ' _We've got a good chance to go far. Our strategy against Hazel and Benji is strong. Granted they've had just as much time to think of a counter as we have but I really think this plan is gonna work. Marcus and Eris will be a bit trickier but from what we've observed the two aren't exactly on equal terms. Thanks to Nathan's ineptitude we know next to nothing about the team from his class so we'll have to watch that match carefully. After that, it's anyone's game,'_ she thought with a grin as her eyes tried to adapt from the bright mid-morning sunlight to the dim lighting of the preparation room. Each pair of students had a set of lockers with their names emblazoned in different colors making a rainbow of contestants. Finding her own, she opened up the locker and took in the sight of her costume. Sapphire in color with armored pads bulging out from vulnerable spots and a few new additions she'd requested from the support company through Mr. Holl just one week prior.

"Alright! They got my upgrades!" Her friend cheered, pumping his fist in celebration. Melody's eyebrow raised and she glanced over his shoulder. For the entire week, the two of them had practiced in their normal sparring clothes as their costumes were away so this was her first real glimpse of his suit. It was bright red and minimalistic. There were no accessories, the fabric looked lightweight and it appeared as if Nathan intended to not wear shoes with the getup. ' _It's built for speed. Makes sense when you think about it. His Quirk is a more streamlined version of his dad's, substituting power for speed. With his personality though, I was expecting something more… flashy.'_

"Nice and simple. I like it," she told him, not noticing he was holding his breath waiting for her opinion, nor when he exhaled in relief.

"It's light and breathable. I'll have to make some alterations during the colder months but for now, this is perfect." Melody nodded thoughtfully before grabbing her own costume from its hook and retreating towards one of the changing rooms.

"Back in a minute!"

"Right," Nathan called back. Once she disappeared from sight he sighed and sat down on one of the benches dividing one wall of lockers from the other. He was so lost in his thoughts that when a voice behind him spoke, he nearly leapt out of his skin.

"Still haven't told her then?" A boy from his class asked, his blood-red eyes curious. Nathan glared at him and turned away.

"No, Zach. And I don't plan to. Mel's been my friend since we were kids. I'm not gonna risk that over some stupid crush," he hissed under his breath, trying to avoid the uproar from both his and Melody's friends that would follow his confession. Zachary Cross shrugged and he pulled on one of his boots.

"Don't think it's some childhood crush, my friend. During class, you're this arrogant, crass jock but the moment you get around her you seem to deflate or relax. Kinda like a blowfish, maybe? I believe Payton put it best when he said you turn from a leopard into a kitten when around her," the boy droned. Nathan growled and yanked his shirt over his head, clearly not caring that half the room could see his bare chest.

"I'll kill him for that. Damn Snowman." At that moment, Melody emerged fully decked out in her costume and Nathan's scowl immediately twisted into an easygoing grin. "Lookin' good, Mel. The blue _really_ accentuates your eyes."

"Hush up, Furball," the redhead retorted, her eyes drifting to his classmate, who was looking at the blond with a knowing expression. Nathan narrowed his eyes at the boy and made a 'go away' gesture with his hand. Zachary shrugged but gave his classmate a look that said 'we'll talk about this later' before putting a metal contraption over the bottom half of his face and stalking off, presumably to find his teammate. "What was that about?"

"Ah, nothing. So, should we go over our strategy one last time?"

"Are you just asking that to change the subject?" Nathan waved a hand dismissively and shucked off his jeans. Melody politely turned her head away from her friend's lack of dignity but in the process caught quite a few of her classmates staring at the blond. Once he'd slipped into his costume, she turned back and frowned. "Anyway, I think our strategy is as good as it's gonna get. We're the third match so we've got quite a while until it's our go."

"So, after I left yesterday did you manage to perfect that special move?" In response to his question, Melody smacked his shoulder and placed a finger over her lips.

"Keep quiet. There's plenty of people here with advanced hearing and it's a secret. I thought cats were supposed to be smart." Nathan grinned and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to apologize but was cut off by an ear-splitting shout.

"I don't care if you're my teammate or what the fuck ever, stay outta my way unless you wanna get hurt!" Clara bellowed, standing menacingly over Sirius, who cowered under her anger. The magenta-haired girl gave him one last loathing look before spinning on her heel and stomping towards the exit to the stadium.

"Does she always do that?" Nathan inquired, seemingly fascinated by the angry girl's sudden departure. Melody, much more familiar with the girl's 'winning' personality, just shook her head and began walking over to the still stunned Sirius.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

With fifteen minutes remaining before the opening ceremony, almost all of the sixty thousand seats in the arena – the special box seats not included – were filled. Despite having nothing to cheer about yet, there was a dull roar of excitement that reverberated through the entry tunnel. In the shadows, just out of view from the stadium, Clara stood cradling her bloodied fist from where it had connected with the cement wall, now cracked, just moments before. In truth, she knew he would be there before she saw him. Why wouldn't he be, with A perfect chance to watch and point out her faults? ' _Fucker. Looking for your next unfortunate sidekick? Or do you just want to watch me fail? Son of a bitch! I will not let you turn me into your puppet… like mom.'_ The image of a brunette woman with hollow eyes flashed in her mind. Clara let out an animalistic cry of rage before punching the wall again and further ruptering it, her blood now oozing from the newly formed cracks "I… will… beat you."

"If you are speaking of Lyle and Lilia then yes, I believe you have around a seventy-five percent chance to win your bout. Though, that hand of yours does put a damper on things. Perhaps you should get it checked out by the medical staff?" Clara laughed bitterly and turned her head to glare at the newcomer.

"...Why is it always you?" Lyon flashed her his trademark grin and took a tentative step closer, like someone approaching a rabid animal.

"Why indeed? Well, I suppose the easiest explanation would be that I find you intriguing," he said evenly. Clara's anger briefly transitioned into confusion.

"Intriguing? You do know I've attempted to deafen and or break your bones like, five times right?"

"Six, actually. But yes, for that exact reason. You see, everyone else in our class is either rather pleasant or quite frankly bland. However, you are perhaps one of the most unique people I've met since coming here. Everyone else in class I can read reasonably well. For instance, Melody is still not quite over what happened in Yonkers if the growing shadows under her eyes are evidence of anything. Narruk is hesitant to get close to anyone besides Melody, even his friendship with Andrew and Lyle is more… superficial than what I'd imagine a normal friendship to look like. Speaking of Andrew, I believe he is hiding something rather important, as are a few others."

"Okay, you're starting to piss me off. Make your point and then leave." Lyon blinked, having been lost in his musings.

"Ah, well as you can see I'm relatively good at reading people. However, you are… odd. You have this incredibly angry demeanor and yet there is… sadness in your eyes. From what I've overheard I suspect it has something to do with your father, yes?" Clara's eyes snapped back onto him and her anger returned. She strode right up to the boy and glared daggers into his amber eyes.

"Say one more word. I _dare_ you." For once, Lyon seemed to have no response to the girl's threats. He just simply stared right back at her with an inquisitive expression. A tense silence hung over the two for a moment before Clara growled. "Someone sent you, didn't they?"

"Lyle said it was, oh what was it? Gamesmanship? According to him, trying to get your opponent off of their game is part of the tournament, which I thought was odd. Nevertheless, I've decided to embrace this odd piece of culture and all it entails." The girl looked down at him and growled deep in her throat.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"You sound very sure of that. Not the most heroic thought." Despite the absolute hatred in her eyes, Lyon just continued smiling and didn't break eye contact. After a moment, Clara appeared to deflate a bit and stormed past the boy back towards the prep room. Once she was gone, the orange-haired boy's smile dropped and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "It seems I miscalculated and said too much. Thankfully, her anger seems mostly directed at Lyle. Gamesmanship, eh? What an odd concept."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Richard Ramirez hated crowds. Their mindless dribble and insignificant problems got on his nerves. It also didn't help that he had to wear a heavy metal mechanism over his mouth and throat that dampened his voice. Without it, just his voice would have burst the eardrums of every civilian within twenty meters so he could understand _why_ he needed it. What he didn't quite understand was his support staff's determination to make is as uncomfortable as possible. The cool iron dug into his esophagus and made breathing deeply nearly impossible. Between it and the myriad of people, both citizens, and fellow Heroes, his mood was worsening by the second. Then, of course, there was the woman walking toward him. To anyone else, she'd have appeared quite beautiful but Richard knew just how ugly she could really be. "Well, well, if it isn't Seismos. It's a surprise to see you out here amongst the masses and not in a private box like most years. Special interest in the freshman this year?"

"You're bold, Vesuvius. What's to say I don't subdue and arrest you right now?" The Pro Hero asked, his voice a deep, metallic growl through his dampener. Miss Vesuvius smiled widely and took the empty seat beside him.

"Simple. You know me. Any attempt you could make with that voice box wouldn't be enough to stop me from killing dozens in an instant. Besides, you wouldn't arrest an old friend would you?" She purred, wrapping her arms around his much thicker bicep. Richard snarled and tried to extract himself but to no avail. The woman had a vice-like grip and as he tried to pull away her arms began to heat up – an early warning system to cut it out. "Now then, you never answered my question. Which student has caught your eye? Must be one you saw outside of school. Most Pros are kept away until their summer internships."

"..."

"The silent treatment? So rude!" She cried and smacked his chest, leaving his black suit steaming and slightly charred. Vesuvius smiled victoriously at him and crossed one of her slender legs over the other. When she spoke again, her normal purr was filled with an emotion Richard couldn't identify. "Hm, I would dare to say that it's a pair of students hold your interest, then? If my intel is correct, and it _always_ is darling, then your daughter will be partaking. Oh? What's that face for?"

"Leave that _brat_ out of this."

"Protective, aren't we?" Vesuvius said though she sounded slightly off-put by the venom in his voice. Seismos laughed harshly and shook his head.

"Hardly. It's bad enough I have to watch her in this tournament, I'd rather not hear about her from _you_." His female companion's brow furrowed at his words. ' _My spies said the girl had a hatred for her father. I didn't expect it to go both ways. It seems we've lost some leverage.'_

"Wow, I wasn't expecting you to talk about the poor girl with such distaste. What did she do? Date a boy you don't like? I know that's a sore spot for yo-"

"Tch, don't go there. Harmony and Clara are nothing alike. The only thing they have in common is that in the end, they are both disappointments. At least Harmony had redeeming factors. That little punk is no more than a burden," he stated.

"That seems a bit harsh. What did she do to disappoint you?" Richard froze and turned his head to glare down at her. Vesuvius had to admit, with his intense crimson eyes and the metal dampener, he was quite imposing.

"She's obsessed with surpassing me. Her entire childhood from the moment she manifested her Quirk to the moment she left for the Forge I tried to impress on her the importance of her Quirk and its heritage but she would rather rebel. Of course, that's not the first of her many flaws. The very reason I had a child with a Quirkless woman was to keep my own Quirk pure so it could be perfected by the next generation. Looking back, I suppose manifesting a mutated version of my Quirk was the first of her failures," he lamented, completely unaware of the disgusted look he was receiving from the Villainess. However, at that moment there was the loud, echoing sound of a microphone turning on and a voice both of them recognized reverberated through the arena.

" _Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to this year's Halloween Festival!"_ The announcement was met with the thunderous cheer of nearly sixty-thousand people. Once it quieted a bit, Derrick Holl cleared his throat and continued. " _Just a bit of housekeeping before we get to the main event. Please welcome my guest commentator, the second-ranked Hero Oddball."_

" _HIYA! It's an honor to be here!"_ This was met with an even more boisterous reaction from the crowd, which caused Richard to scowl.

"That's right, he's still one slot above you. Must've stung when they announced he was still superior despite his age," Vesuvius said, her voice sounding like a whisper within the roar of the crowd. Seismos, wisely, ignored the woman.

" _Can't wait to see these kids tear one another apart!"_ Oddball cried. This statement was met with mostly cheers but there were quite a few nervous chuckles from those not used to hearing him speak.

" _Ah… yes, anyway. If you look down at the field you'll see our freshman history teacher, Elvira Whittaker, who is going to explain the basic rules of this contest."_ The woman in question waved merrily at the crowd and gladly accepted her own microphone from a fellow staff member.

" _Howdy! All right, let's get right down to the dirty details. As usual, this is a primarily fightin' tournament but every year we try and do somethin' new. So it's my pleasure to announce that this year's theme is... Subdue and Capture!"_ From within her buckskin crop top, she produced a small, thin roll of fabric. " _This here is what our support staff call 'Smart Rope'. Not the best name but it fits. For this year's tournament, a student's team can win in two ways. Option one, completely knock out their opponents or option two, hogtie them with this here string. Once you're tied up you are out. The only way you can succeed in this tournament is to work together and watch each other's backs. Teamwork is the trademark of any Hero. Other than that, there are no rules. You can use any support equipment you bring in but beware, you cannot restock so use it wisely. That's all I got to say, thanks to everyone for turnin' up and let's give these kids a big round of applause!"_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Well… that might change our strategy a bit," Nathan deadpanned as he stared up at one of the half dozen fifty-inch television screens placed sporadically throughout the prep area. Beside him, Melody was fiddling with her new goggles – a modified version of her mother's old pair. The frame of the goggles was a bright shade of red while the lenses were tinted black. "What do those things do anyway?"

"The biggest thing is the infrared. Other than that, they're just advanced sunglasses. Eventually I'm gonna upgrade but this is all they could get done in a week," Melody explained, pulling them down over her head to cover her eyes. She was quiet for a moment as she looked down at her hands, though Nathan was too enamored with a fly buzzing around his head to notice the frown on her face. ' _So it wasn't the goggles that made me see the blood. What was it then? So weird,'_ she thought.

"That'll help for night missions. Of course, _I_ don't need infrared because… y'know cats have night vision or whatever." The redhead rolled her eyes and tapped a button on the side of the goggles, making her friend's image appear as a human-shaped red blob.

"So humble."

"Thanks! So… I've been meaning to ask you something," Nathan said, his voice somewhat shaky. Melody tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What is it?"

"The final rounds. Y'know, we might have to fight each other. It sounds like something they'd do, yeah? Pit former teammates against one another?" Melody thought back on Mr. Holl's proclamation that only four students would pass the labyrinth test – a complete lie if her recent report card was anything to go off of – and had to admit her friend was right. Immediately, a pool of dread settled in her stomach. ' _Former partners… friends turned against one another? Yeah… that is something they'd do. Especially if Mr. Holl has any say in it. He knew mom… what happened to her.'_

"It would make sense," she muttered. Nathan shifted uncomfortably. He was about to speak again, but was cut off when Melody removed her glasses and looked at him determinedly. "Then if it does come to that, I'm not holding back. I swear to everything, if you do and I find out I'm gonna kick your butt! This is our best chance to show what we can actually do and I'll be royally peeved off if you go easy on me!"

"You got it, Mel," Nathan chuckled. If he were being honest with himself, he _was_ hesitant about the idea of going all out against his best friend. ' _I should've known she'd be all for the idea of kicking my ass. Actually, I'm a bit frightened of her recently. Whoever the hell has been helping her with her hand-to-hand skills can jump off a bridge, her punches really fucking hurt.'_ Just then, a robotic female voice came over the intercom system, cutting off all conversations in the room.

" _Would the first contestants please make their way to the battlefield? Thank you.''_ Melody's gaze turned towards Sirius and Clara, the former looking as if he'd seen a ghost – other than Epiphany – while the later grinned maniacally. On the other side of the room, Lyle and his teammate, a brunette girl with as cold a disposition as the poison Quirk user, nodded to one another and left down the tunnel above which a monitor flashed their team number.

As he walked down his team's tunnel, Sirius' breathing became more and more erratic. In his mind he could hear Epiphany's voice but it was almost as if she were speaking underwater. The muffled sound of her, his own short breaths, and the roar of the crowd were making him shake like a leaf. Once the pair made it to the end of the tunnel, Sirius had to put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the drastic lighting change. The only thing separating him and Clara from the battlefield was half a dozen shining iron bars. "Hey, shrimp."

"Eh?" To his shock, his teammate had actually turned from glaring out at the crowd to face him. The look on her face was neutral but her eyes were as cold as Epiphany.

"You're pathetic, you know that? I mean, fuck we haven't even gone out there yet and you're having a fucking hissy fit. Calm down, alright?" She ordered. Sirius was shocked. ' _Did… did Clara just try and consol me?'_ he wondered. "If you keep that shit up we'll lose and if we lose, it's your ass."

"O-Okay," the boy squeaked.

"Why don't you just shut up and focus on the match?" A new voice said. Sirius groaned and prepared for the coming firestorm. Epiphany stood – or rather hovered – just behind his shoulder, glaring daggers at the larger girl. Clara gave her an appraising look, grinned, and marched over to be face to face with the girl, trapping Sirius in between them.

"Oh? Ghost girl's got a problem with my pep talk, does she? Now that I think more on it I shouldn't expect much from tiny here in the first place. He's never the one fighting, always hiding behind his little protector," she taunted, nearly nose to nose with a snarling Epiphany.

"Like you're any better. Hiding your weakness behind that shitty personality of yours. We're supposed to be a team here!" The redhead exclaimed. The two girls growled at one another, seemingly unaware of the third member of their team trapped between them.

"I don't need some weakling and his _pet_ to win this match. Stay outta my way. Wouldn't wanna step on the runt, now would I?" Epiphany looked as if she was ready to attack Clara but the bigger girl stepped away and went back to looking at the battlefield outside. After another minute of silence, she sighed and shook her head. "Be on your guard. That poison bastard is weak physically but he's smart. He knows what'll get you riled up. Expect him to have a plan."

"Okay?" Sirius said, confused by her sudden change in tone. Before any of them could say more, their teacher's voice echoed through the arena.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first match of the freshman bracket. Our first competitors, whose real names will be withheld for their safety, are Elisnore and Clyde on the blue side, while the red side is Hemlock and Irusan. Remember, full use of Quirks and support equipment is allowed. The match will end when one side is either captured or rendered unable to battle. And now, to choose the field."_

"Field?" Clara muttered and looked around at her team. Sirius and Epiphany both shrugged but before they could elaborate the ground began to shake. In the middle of the battlefield, a crack appeared and the field opened. At first, it appeared as if the 'field' Holl had talked about was going to be just an empty hole but then Sirius saw something green cresting the hole.

"Trees?"

"I see. They change up the battlefield before every match so no one has a concrete idea of what terrain they'll be fighting on. Heh, any strategies people came up with just got drastically fucked," Clara noted as the hundred-meter field became a section of woodland complete with a dirt floor and other plants like ferns and flowers dotting it.

" _The forest field. Created by the Number One Hero Overgrown for just this occasion. At the beginning of each round, the terrain will change again. A Pro Hero must be able to adapt to anything as they'll never know when and where they will be called into action to save lives. The match will begin when our referee, Ms. Whittaker, give the signal."_ The woman in question grinned and glanced at either side of the stadium, though her view of the students was blocked by the foliage. She raised a whistle to her lips and blew hard, signaling the start of the match. The iron bars slid upwards and Clara grinned before charging into the forest, leaving Sirius and Epiphany calling after her.

"Clara wait!"

"We need a plan of attack!" Epiphany shouted.

"I have a plan… ATTACK!"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Sorry for no AN but I'm lazy. Thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing. Tomorrow is Prime Day so my company is gonna have at least 2k orders, god help us :(. Anyway here's the preview**

 **Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero!**

 **Chapter 28: Go Beyond!**

 **It was gonna happen eventually, guys. No one will say it (the discord is still arguing over the school motto) but yeah, quickest title I could think of. Next time we'll see Clara/Sirius vs. Lyle/Lilia and maaaaybe some of Narruk's fight. Dunno I haven't really planned it out yet. Okay, see you guys later**


	29. Chapter 28: Go Beyond!

**Chapter 28: Go Beyond!**

Lyle's right eye twitched in annoyment at his teammate's incessant foot tapping. ' _Why does she have to have such an irritating nervous twitch? Why can't she just wring her hands or something… quieter?'_ He asked himself silently. His memory drifted back to the first time the two had met to train and strategize before the tournament. Her tapping had pushed him to near insanity during his briefing. Otherwise, Lilia was a fairly competent teammate. She was easy to get along with, even for someone like him, and contrary to her initial cold and stoic demeanor, once she'd gotten more comfortable around him she'd turned out to be quite bubbly and full of life, another constant annoyance. "Okay, we've still got a few minutes. You remember the plan?"

"Of course… maybe go over it one more time? Just as a refresher?" She said sheepishly. Though he'd expected the response, Lyle still rolled his eyes before speaking again.

"Fine, I'll go over it one more time. Our main priority is Sirius. If we can take him out quickly then we eliminate Epiphany from the fight altogether and can focus on Clara. We'll have to be quick about it – this is where you come in – and knock him out before Epiphany can get her bearings. The two like to banter, so we'll take advantage of that before they can get too serious. Don't you dare laugh!"

"Oh come on!" That… was another thing about Lilia that constantly got on his nerves. As soon as she'd figured out the name of their opponent she hadn't missed an opportunity to make a pun – and usually a bad pun at that – about it. He'd explained multiple times that 'Sirius' and 'serious' were two completely different words but she had a knack for ignoring him. Lyle sighed and face-palmed at her antics.

"Anyway… I got Lyon to go and try to distract Clara. That will either put her off her game… or turn her even more murderous than usual. We're hoping for the former. Then–" The voice of Mr. Holl reverberating through the arena cut him off. Lyle stayed silent while his teacher welcomed the crowd and introduced Oddball and the referee – his history teacher, Ms. Whittaker – before his color commentator expressed his desire to watch them tear each other apart. Then came the bombshell. "Subdue and capture? Damn, I should've known they'd throw something else at us. Doesn't change our plan too much but be mindful and don't get yourself caught early on."

"Right-o!" Lilia cheered, her excitement visible on her face. "At least that's not _too_ impactful. Not much of our plan has changed."

" _Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first match of the freshman bracket. Our first competitors, whose real names will be withheld for their safety, are Elisnore and Clyde on the blue side, while the red side is Hemlock and Irusan. Remember, full use of Quirks and support equipment is allowed. The match will end when one side is either captured or rendered unable to battle. And now, to choose the field."_

"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Lyle muttered as a dense forest emerged from an opening in the dirt floor of the stadium.

"...sorry."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Very quickly, it became apparent for Clara that the forest was not as simple a stage as she'd first thought. Not long after her stampeding into the forest, her 'team' scrambling after her, every tree had started to blend together. No matter how many times she changed direction, she'd always see the same oak tree here and maple tree there. It was really beginning to grind on her nerves and the complaints of the ghost girl didn't help much. "Oh yeah, great idea. Rushing in blindly without a plan always works. Thanks, Sun Tzu," Epiphany said sardonically. Clara growled and continued her aggravated tromp through the woods.

"That right there, that's helping a shit-ton," she called over her shoulder as she walked. The ever-present darkness caused by the thickly interlocked canopy above, as well as the fairly small color pallet was making the girl's eyes sore. ' _I'm gonna kill whoever decided to make this forest a fucking maze. This is completely counterintuitive to the idea of a fighting tournament. Everyone's gotta have a gimmick nowadays,'_ she thought angrily as she snapped a tree branch that got in her way. "Dumbass fucking ghost."

"Hey!"

"Girls… please, we've gotta work together," Sirius interjected, causing Clara to shoot him a look over her shoulder which screamed 'murder'. The short boy had been trying, and failing, at being a peacekeeper between the two. Unfortunately, his voice was easily drowned out by the noise of his teammates. Which brought Clara's train of thought back around to something she had noticed not long ago. The forest was almost completely silent. The only sounds reaching her – even with her enhanced hearing capabilities – was the occasional cawing of birds and the sounds of her team tromping through the stillness. ' _Something must be deadening the noise from outside the arena. Even if they weren't cheering we should still be able to hear the crowd. It's probably some sort of psychological test or some bullshit. See how we handle different environments or whatever. Just makes this forest even more unnerving.'_

"Thank you, Sirius! Hear that, Clara? Next time why don't we come up with an actual plan instead of, y'know being complete neanderthals about it?" The ghost inquired, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Something inside Clara snapped and she whirled around on her teammates with a vicious smile splitting her face. Sirius squeaked and took a step back.

"You wanna know what my fucking plan was, ghost bitch? Tell me, what went through your mind when this forest rose from the ground?"

"What the hell does that have to do wi–"

"Did your mind go blank? Did you lose your fucking train of thought? Did every plan and preparation you've made over the past week go sailing out the goddamn window?"

"Yeah? Maybe? What are you–"

"Wonderful. Now tell me, what's stopping our enemies from experiencing the same thing? Nothing, right? I can say with almost absolute certainty that they went through the same thing we did. However, seeing as that fucking poison moron admittedly has a somewhat functioning brain I deduced that he would quickly figure out a strategy to beat us. _I_ did not want to give him that opportunity. If this fucking forest wasn't like a fucking funhouse we would have found and beaten them already. So next time you question my plans, take a minute to think about your fucking enemy and how they'd react, capiche?" Clara said, her voice getting more and more spiteful with every word, stepping closer to the ghost girl and jabbing a finger into her chest. The two girls glared at one another for several moments until the taller of the two stiffened. Then, to Epiphany's surprise, she suddenly pushed her away and dove back as a glob of poison splashed onto the ground between them. "Shit, he's in the trees!"

"Sirius, my sword!" Epiphany shouted. Sirius, who'd been watching their previous exchange with both fear and interest – it wasn't often that someone could out-argue Epiphany, after all – grabbed the wooden weapon off of his back and tossed it to the girl, only to fumble the throw and have the sword land in the ten-foot gap between them. As she groaned and took a step towards the weapon to retrieve it another glob of a viscous green liquid splashed on the ground in front of her, burning the grass around it. "Crap!"

"We're in a fucking _forest_! Fuck the sword!" Clara bellowed, aiming her voice upwards and blowing a hole into the canopy, letting sunlight stream through.

"Doesn't work that way! I can't use living trees!" Epiphany shouted in a panic as she stumbled out of the way of three more globs. Clara gave her a look that said 'are you serious?' and scowled at her grave nod.

"Fan-fucking-tastic! You're useless. Oi, snake-bastard! Come out and fight like a man!" Clara taunted, nearly receiving a blast of poison in return. She grinned and fired a 'Howl Missile' in the direction the attack had come from, but to no avail as the tree branches shuddered but didn't draw out her enemy. Just as quickly as they'd started, the attacks stopped and the forest fell silent. Sirius, who'd not been targeted as far as Clara had seen, jogged over to his partner and handed her the wooden sword, or the stump of it that remained, with a miserable expression on his face. After a few seconds, the Howl Quirk user sighed and relaxed slightly. "Either it's a trap, or he retreated. Hopefully, that means my attack blew out his fucking eardrums. Stay vigilant, we're going hunting."

"You sure that's a good idea? He can obviously find us a lot better than we can find him," Sirius noted, glancing nervously at the trees. Clara ignored him and turned to walk away. The Two-Bit Heroes shared a glance, shrugged and followed after her. As they traversed the woodland, Sirius couldn't help but think what a horrible idea it was. ' _We're just playing into Lyle's games, right? Clara has to know this… is she really that eager to fight? Crap, we are at such a big disadvantage. All they've gotta do is get a lucky hit in on Clara and take her out and then Lyle knows Epiphany is tied to me, so he'll have his teammate focus on me while Epiphany is distracted by him. This is such a lose-lose scenario. We're screwed,'_ he bemoaned, hanging his head. This turned out to be a bad idea. With his eyes glued to the forest floor, he never saw the branch Epiphany and Clara had ducked under and slammed his head right into it. With a yelp, he fell backward and gasped as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Sirius? You okay?" Epiphany asked, rubbing her head in the exact spot he'd hit his on the branch. The two girls stood over him, though Clara looked more annoyed than worried. Then, he saw it. A pair of yellow eyes looking down at him. Then a dark silhouette appeared attached to the eyes.

"Above us!" He shouted. Without a second's hesitation, Clara reared her head back and prepared to scream into the foliage above, only to stop and blink in confusion. This quickly turned to anger and she scowled down at Sirius. Epiphany followed his gaze and tilted her head in bemusement.

"It's… a cat. Huh, I wouldn't have thought they'd stock the forest. I mean, there've been a few birds but a feral cat? Seems a bit overkill," Epiphany remarked, grabbing Sirius' hand and pulling him to his feet. The trio watched, apprehensively in Clara's case, as the cat leapt down and stared at them with calculating eyes. Then, without prompting, it strutted over to Sirius and began rubbing against his leg. The magenta-haired girl scowled and turned away.

"Don't waste our time, furball." She began walking away but the sound of Sirius crying out and Epiphany grunting in pain caused her to whirl back around. The sight was something she did _not_ expect. Sirius lied with his face shoved into the forest floor and a girl straddling his back and wrapping his arms in rope while Epiphany was nowhere to be seen. When she glanced up, Lilia Ayria smiled brightly at Clara.

"Hiya!"

 **Lilia Ayria**

 **Her Quirk: Cat Sith**

 **She can transform into a dark-furred cat at will, though transformations do cause her pain. Her size can range from a housecat to a massive panther. However, she can only use this Quirk nine times each week lest she be stuck as one or the other.**

"Howl Missile!" Clara roared though her attack was nimbly dodged by the girl. Lilia darted behind a nearby tree but before her enemy could attempt to flush her out, a barrage of poison rained down from the treetops. Barely managing to dodge, Clara slammed her back into a nearby tree and heard a low growl from the underbrush, where a big cat – slightly larger than a saint bernard – emerged and pounced, forcing her to duck. The mass of hissing black fur flew over her and landed deftly on its feet. "Come on!" Clara urged, lowering her center of gravity and preparing to charge. She was forced out of her stance as another attack came from the canopy. The girl sidestepped the venom and narrowed her eyes at the cat bounding towards her. Lilia leaped at her but this time Clara was more than ready. She dipped under the cat's claws and roared. The resulting soundwave shook the forest and sent Lilia soaring through the air.

The panther landed gracefully and pawed at her ears before whirling around on her prey with a feral snarl. ' _A two-pronged attack on me after taking out the weak link. Not bad, Wolfbane. Can't risk a hurricane just yet, I'm gonna need that for wolf boy in the next round. Whenever I move against one the other will attack from my blind spot, so I've gotta go for both at the same time. Only one way to do that… fucking embarrassing but it's my only choice now.'_ Clara took a deep breath and, as the cat in front of her tensed and prepared to dodge an attack, she turned on her heel and sprinted into the forest.

Lyle frowned from his perch as the magenta-haired girl disappeared into the underbrush. He didn't even flinch when the two hundred pound cat landed on the tree branch next to him, only gripping his chin in thought. Lilia, still in her cat form, tilted her head questioningly at him and flicked her tail in the direction Clara had run. "We'll have to play it smart. She wants us to follow her. You can find her with your nose so I'm not concerned with her escaping us forever. Okay, let's keep it simple. Follow her trail until we get fifteen meters out and alert me. Then we'll close in on her from both sides and, with a bit of luck, take down the beast quickly." In response, Lilia nudged his arm with her furry head and leaped down from the tree before stalking off into the underbrush.

The panther quickly caught the girl's scent and raced off towards it. Lyle grinned under his mask, dropped to the floor and started following his teammate at a respectable distance. After a few minutes of searching and tracking the scent, Lilia stopped and began swiveling her feline head in several different directions. The white-haired boy came to a stop and gave her a questioning look. Unable to speak – and looking quite peeved by that fact – the cat used one of her retractable claws to sketch something in the dirt. A number '3'. "You mean her scent is coming from three separate directions? She's smarter than I thought if she figured out how we found them. Be alert, we'll go one by one and investigate. She won't get the better of us."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Uh, sorry folks. We can't seem to find Elisnore on our cameras. While our techs work on that, what do you think of the match so far, Oddball?"_ Holl's voice echoed throughout the stadium. There was a sound of contemplation from the Number Two Hero before he spoke in his usual high-pitched, and slightly goofy tone.

" _Both sides are pretty evenly matched in terms of smarts. We haven't seen much of what Elisnore can do but if the way Hemlock is avoiding her is evidence of something, she's a tough cookie."_ Richard Ramirez scoffed at this and reached one of his hands up to adjust the metal fastens of his dampener. Beside him, Vesuvius studied the contraption amusedly, like a child inspecting an interesting insect.

"She's doing well. Though, I don't think she'll last much longer if she gets pulled into combat. That Hemlock boy seems to have a good head on his shoulders and _I_ for one would not like to be on the opposing side of that Irusan's claws. A valiant display but with her teammate indisposed she–"

"Would you please shut the hell up?"

"Am I getting on your nerves, Richie?" Vesuvius switched between calculating and provocative quick enough to make someone with a lesser constitution's head spin. Seismos just growled at her.

"Fuck off. Don't call me that."

"Because _she_ did? Oh! That really got under your skin. I'm sorry, I forgot how sensitive you were when it came to your precious 'Harmy'. Such a dreadful nickname, I don't know how she put up with it. Imagine being in love with someone, so enamored that you ignore their inner ugliness and then they have the gall to call you 'Harmy'. Maybe it was a good thing I put her out of her misery." Lydia knew she'd crossed a line. Though, that's exactly what she'd been aiming for. Her orders were, after all, to break this man. "Is your love for her what's _really_ keeping you from loving your daughter? Afraid she'll betray you as well?"

"I'm going to enjoy ripping out your throat and watching the light leave your eyes."

"So violent. I apologize, I'm just having a hard time fathoming why you despise your own flesh and blood so much. Especially a girl with so much potential. It's quite hard to believe, I mean I could never feel that way about my little sunshine but the fact that you seem to have no sense of familial love for her baffles me," Vesuvius said, causing the Number Three Hero to snort derisively.

"That's rich, coming from you. When was the last time you saw your kid? My sources say the little pest ran off a few years ago and good riddance. You're about as big a failure as a mother as Harmony was a Hero." Vesuvius looked stricken at his words and fell silent, a faraway look in her eye. For the briefest instant, Richard felt a pang of sympathy for the woman. Then, of course, he purged that feeling from inside the depths of his mind. Scum didn't deserve that commodity, after all. "In any case, despite her teammate's incompetence, Clara will win. She's sworn to overcome me and that girl is nothing if not obsessively stubborn."

"Is that admiration I hear?" Vesuvius purred, though the slight edge to her voice alerted him to the fact that his comment was still affecting her.

"Fuck off."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Lyle sighed heavily as they came up to the second source of Clara's scent, one of her black leather boots just like the first source. He didn't like the fact that his opponent had seemingly wretched control of the game away from him. However, if there was one thing the white-haired boy enjoyed it was a game of cat and mouse. ' _Lilia hasn't been able to detect any more trails so this final one should be her. Nevertheless, we can't let our guard down for a second. Clara is actually pretty intelligent when she puts her mind to it it seems, though I'm sure she's still pissed at me for what happened in the labyrinth on the first day. My ears are still ringing,'_ the boy thought, remembering the expression on her face when he'd called her a 'she-gorilla'. "One more, right?"

"..." Lilia said nothing as one of her dinner plate-sized paws scratched at her pointed ears. For a moment Lyle wondered what was wrong, then he remembered Clara's earlier attack. Her Howl had even caused him discomfort ten meters away, he couldn't imagine how Lilia felt being within a few feet of the Howl and having far better hearing than him. ' _She's still got her sense of smell and her whiskers. They should be enough to track Clara. And hey, worse comes to worst, being slightly deaf will help her withstand the she-gorilla's next attack.'_ The panther shook her head once more and swiveled her head around to get her bearings, then turned and trotted into the forest once more. As before, Lyle followed her at a safe enough distance where he'd be able to jump in to help and to where Clara wouldn't be able to take both of them down with one attack. The final marker of her scent was much further away than the other two. He'd always suspected it was the real Clara but felt it was safer to make sure. ' _Almost seems like she threw her boots away at random to try and throw us off. Clever but there's no place left to run.'_

Suddenly, Lilia came to a stop and tilted her head at something just blocked from Lyle's view by the lower branches of a maple tree. He repositioned and sighed at what he saw. "What the hell?" Hanging from the lowest branch of a tree was Clara's fur-lined jacket, it's owner noticeably absent. The panther raised her head and looked at him quizzically. He motioned to his nose and raised an eyebrow. The cat shook its head and walked a few steps closer to take a closer look, er sniff of the jacket. Against his better judgment, Lyle dropped from his perch and walked up beside his partner. "You sure there aren't any more trails?" Lilia hissed lowly at him. The boy frowned and reached out a hand to examine the article. Then he heard it. An intake of breath so low he wouldn't have been able to hear it if he were any farther away. "Shit! Move!"

"SHRED HOWLER!" The tree exploded in an explosion of sound and vibrations, pelting Lyle and Lilia with wood fragments and sap. The latter – having been closer to the origin of the blast – went sailing into the underbrush with a loud yowl of pain. Lyle, meanwhile, stood his ground and grunted in pain as pieces of his costume were sliced away like a hot knife through butter. Small but very deep cuts began forming on his exposed skin and what was left of his costume looked as if someone had attacked him with a switchblade. His eyes drifted back up and he saw Clara standing where the tree once had, her jacket gone and blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. He quickly formed a ball of poison in his hand but never got the chance to throw it. His opponent seemingly anticipated the move and the next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground with a burning pain in his jaw from where Clara had punched him. She huffed and spoke with a raspy voice. "How's that... asshole?"

"I-" He tried to reply but was cut off as Clara stomped over to him and knelt down to the forest floor. When he first felt her hands drift underneath his body he thought she was going to pick him up. He was proven wrong with a mouthful of wet leaves as she flipped him over. Within a few seconds, his opponent had bound his hands tightly with the capture rope. Instantly, he felt his control over the ball of poison still positioned in his palm dissolve. The liquid flowed off his hand and burned away the grass beneath him.

"Quirk suppressing? So that's why ghost bitch didn't stick around after useless got caught. Okay, don't go anywhere. I just have to tie up that damned cat and this'll be over."

"You sound way too enthused to be ending a fight. Plus you used your brain for once. Who are you and what have you done with Clara?" Lyle asked snarkily. The girl glared down at him and, in an action he probably should have seen coming, placed her boot on the back of his head and pushed his face back into the damp earth. Clara froze and turned towards a nearby cluster of oak trunks. She heard her enemy far before she ever saw her.

"Howl Missile!" She roared. Unlike her previous attack, this blast left no cuts on the wood of the trees. Instead, several of the giants were completely uprooted and fell to the ground. ' _The ability to switch between raw power and more precise attacks… she's more dangerous than I thought. Has she been holding back in General Hero and combat classes?'_ Lyle wondered as his teammate pounced and nearly blinded Clara with her claws. The magenta-haired girl didn't seem outwardly affected and swung her foot into the panther's midsection. Lilia wailed in pain and again rounded on her opponent. Her next swipe landed and Clara stumbled back with a grunt. Large chunks of her shoulder-length magenta hair floated down to the forest floor and a trickle of blood splashed her shoulder from the three claw marks on the back of her neck. "That's it. You're dying!"

Lilia hissed and took a few steps back, staying within pouncing range but away from Clara, who countered by getting into an offensive stance. In the end, it was Clara that made the first move. She inhaled deeply and Lilia immediately moved to get out of the way, which played right into her opponent's hands. Her feint successful, Clara swiftly closed the distance, grabbed Lilia by the scruff of her neck and threw her against a nearby tree trunk. The panther recovered and leapt away from another 'Howl Missile' before sprinting in a circle around the girl, darting from tree to tree for cover. The strategy worked in the sense that her opponent was unable to properly aim an attack. However, it also exerted Lilia to near her breaking point. ' _I don't have very long left in this form. I have to finish this quickly before she can regain control. Her Howls are getting less effective with every attack and I'm faster, this is no time for hesitation!'_ She decided before turning on a dime and charging at Clara's exposed back. Her plan – as had every single one she and Lyle had come up with over the course of the day – backfired spectacularly. Not only did her opponent see her coming in time, but she also intercepted her charge with a well-aimed kick and followed it up by slamming her into the ground. "How many more lives have you got, cat?"

It was then that something peculiar happened. The panther wriggling desperately to free herself from Clara's chokehold stiffened and, to her combatant's surprise, shrank to the size of an ordinary house cat. Lilia's smaller body allowed her to sip through her enemy's grasp but landed in a heap of black fur on the forest ground, breathing heavily. It took the magenta-haired girl a bit to fully process what was happening before she broke out laughing. "You've gotta be kidding me! Here I was thinking your Quirk was badass, turning into a panther and all, but that's actually pathetic. What the hell are you gonna do, short stuff? OW!" Clara's mocking tone disappeared when the small animal flashed its claws and slashed the girl across her face. "You little fuck, try that again and I _will_ punt your ass into the stands." Lilia gave the girl, who even in a kneeling position towered over her, one last look before turning and attempting to run away. She only made it a few feet, however, before she was grabbed roughly around the midsection and lifted into the air. Despite her thrashing, scratching, and biting, Lilia was unable to fight off the other girl for long and soon found all four of her legs bound tightly together.

" _Uh, I guess that's it. Ladies and gentlemen the winner of today's first match is the team of Elisnore and Clyde!"_ Mr. Holl announced. From the woods behind her, Clara noticed both Ms. Whittaker and Mrs. Holl approaching. She gave one last baleful look at the hogtied cat before tossing it to the referee, who just barely managed to catch the poor creature.

" _What a rollercoaster! Elisnore's team managed to turn an unfair three-on-two advantage into a two-on-one disadvantage! Then as the lone survivor, Elisnore kills it and takes out both of her opponents single-handedly and with a ton of style! Great way to start today's freshman bracket, can't wait to see the next slaughter!"_ Every word of the Number Two Hero made Clara grind her teeth.

"Ms. Ayria? The battle is over, you can deactivate your Quirk now," Elvira said, eyeing the cat bemusedly. The cat just stared back at her and shook her feline head. "No, you don't want to or no you can't?"

"She can't," a new voice said. Lyle sighed heavily as he walked into the clearing, though Clara smirked in satisfaction at the number of bandages covering his body. The boy walked up to the teachers and gave his partner a look that clearly said 'I told you so'. Mrs. Holl walked up to Clara and placed a hand under her chin, raising and twisting the teen's head to try and get a better look inside her mouth. After an irritating amount of time – probably only around thirty seconds – the magenta-haired girl snapped her teeth shut and glared at the woman, who gave her an unimpressed look in reply.

"You're going to need medical attention. Your throat is bleeding profusely and if that move earlier did what I think it did, you need to have your larynx healed. Come, my assistant, Sophia, can tend to your cuts and bruises as well." Leena studied the girl for a while before sighing and shaking her head. "You'll also probably want to ask her or one of the other girls to even out your hair. You've lost quite a bit."

"Fucking great." Clara scowled at the woman but followed her lead out of the forest and towards the tunnel that led to a first aid station. As soon as she exited the woods, the sound of the crowd returned, almost deafening after the silence of the forest. It made her head swim and she had to shake it to regain her composure. Then, of course, there was her state of dress. For the second time in a month, her coat had been destroyed – although this time by herself and _not_ an annoying pyro – meaning she was standing in front of tens of thousands of people in nothing but her brassiere. She scowled and sped up, passing Leena on the way to the tunnel. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of taking one last look into the crowd. Staring back at her, eyes full of resentment and disappointment, was her father.

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Heyo! What's up guys and gals. So I decided from now on my Author's Notes will be down here so you all can get right into the chapter without listening to my drivel. Anyway, Thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing as usual. I didn't have an AN last time so I'll just put this here. Spiderman: Far From Home... A. I really enjoyed it and Mysterio is one of my favorite Marvel villains. Actually... nah, change it to an A+ after that mid-credits scene. I cheered louder for that than I did for Thor's entrance into Wakanda in Infinity War. Might just be nostalgia but** ** _he_** **(not gonna spoil it) is by far my favorite cast for a comic book movie. Also Phase 4? Fuck yes! Gah, I hate that there's not an MCU film for the rest of this year. Okay, I'm done. Hope you all enjoyed!**

 **Alright, let's get to the teaser.**

 _ **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**_

 **Chapter 29: Team Sunwolf**


	30. Chapter 29: Team Sunwolf

**Hey everyone! Uhh, sorry about the wait. Life has been difficult recently but oh well. Here's the chapter, hope you all enjoy.**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

"It looks very pretty, don't look so down." Clara ignored the assistant nurse's reassurances and glared at her unfamiliar reflection in the small hand mirror. When she was little, her father had tried to force her to cut her hair short. 'It's not practical to have long hair. Just gives your enemy another thing to use against you and it can get in the way of your vision' he'd always said and for years she'd grown out her magenta hair as a symbol of her hate for her father. Now, that symbol was gone and, while she had to admit her new hairstyle – shaved on the sides and still slightly long on the top– was more fitting to her image, she could only look at herself in contempt. In frustration, she flung the mirror away, where it bounced off the springy side of the first aid tent and shattered on the asphalt below. The assistant nurse, a girl not much older than her with curly brown hair and a nametag that read 'Sophia', sighed and stood from her stool at Clara's bedside. "Okay, let me know if you need anything. Your upperclassmen are even worse at holding back than you guys so I have other patients to deal with. Bee stings, burns, broken bones, it never ends!"

" _Get it together, Clara! It's just some stupid fucking hairdo, not the end of the world_ ," the girl snarled and slammed a fist into her thigh. Even to her, the words sounded hollow and the pain from her self-inflicted injury felt numb. ' _What the hell is wrong with me? Damnit, you're stronger than this. Don't let that bastard run your fucking life,'_ she mentally scolded. She ran a hand through her newly shortened hair and sighed. ' _I won. I beat that little poison freak into the dirt so why am I acting so damned pathetic?'_ Clara flopped backward on her cot and relished the feel of the cool, soft pillow on her aching head. She was slightly off-put by her own attitude. It'd been a while since she'd doubted herself like this. Right as she was finally getting comfortable, there was a shuffling sound a few feet in front of her and her head shot up. She glowered at Sirius, who stood awkwardly at the foot of her bed. "What the fuck do _you_ want, you useless little shit?"

"Thank you!" He practically shouted in reply and then shielded himself with his arms, as if he expected her to attack him. Perhaps if she wasn't so confused, she might've but at that moment all she could do was stare bemusedly at her teammate. Seeing she wasn't going to hit him, Sirius lowered his arms and took a shaky breath before talking again."W-We only get four chances in high school to prove ourselves to the Pros before we graduate. I… without you I would have wasted my first one. I didn't… I didn't really make a good first impression but now I have a chance to show that I'm not… well, useless."

"You're thanking me… for winning? That's fucking stupid. What, did you think I was going to lose?" Clara demanded, though there was no bite behind it. Still, Sirius paled and shook his head vigorously. ' _This kid has absolutely no guts. I almost feel bad for him.'_

"N-No! I just wanted to, um, show m-my appreciation for, uh… I-I just... feel like I should've done more," he muttered miserably, hanging his head.

"Chill the hell out, shrimp. Not much you could've done, that poison idiot is too smart. Neither one of us realized what was going on. So long as you don't fuck up our next match against the mutt I won't have to rip off your arms."

"B-But how do you know Narruk is gonna win? We don't know what those other kids are capable of, he could lose." Clara snorted –slightly amused he'd completely glossed over her threat– and swung her feet over the edge of her cotton white cot. She grunted at the few dozen pops her back made as she stretched and began walking towards the tent's entrance flaps.

"Oh, he's gonna win. He's stronger than most of our class. Not as smart but those dog reflexes work well for him. Besides, if he doesn't win and deprives me of our fight, I'm going to kill him myself."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"I still don't get how you don't know the specifics of her Quirk. You're in the same damned class for christ's sake!" Nathan, for perhaps the twelfth time that week, griped. From the moment she had told him she was unsure of how exactly Hazel's Quirk worked, Melody had to hear her teammate complain about how lazy she was, ignoring the fact that _she_ had to tell _him_ how Benji's Quirk worked. The redhead pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"She hasn't really explained it to us but, from my observations, it's a speed-type Quirk, which I've told you several times. Now, can we continue, please?"

"I just don't see why we have to go over strategy _again_!" Nathan whined and lied completely flat against the wooden bench, propping his feet onto Melody's lap. The girl glared at him but – in order to avoid more whining – allowed it and tried to rein her childhood friend back in.

"We have to keep going over it because _you_ keep forgetting! Jeez, furball I thought cats had a good memory. Did you just miss out on that?" Melody asked, exasperated. Nathan stuck his head up and gave her a look she knew all too well. His ' _I know something you don't know_ ' look.

"Actually they do, but only if it actively benefits us. Our short-term is good but our long-term is exceptional. Which is why I still remember you wearing that ghastly All-Might costume for Halloween when we were five," Nathan said, his voice taking on his impression of a professor.

"What does that have to do with anything, Nathan?" The cat-boy grinned widely.

"I just like to occasionally throw that back at you. That costume was absolutely atrocious," he said matter-of-factly, making his friend groan and smack his leg.

"You're impossible. Can we get back to the plan now or are you gonna bring up more embarrassing memories?" She inquired. Nathan was about to answer but suddenly a ripple of surprise shot through the preparation room, accompanied by the sound of a dozen whispered conversations starting. He was about to turn and see what all the fuss was about but Melody beat him to it, getting to her feet and walking across the room. The sight that greeted Nathan as he followed his teammate's progress caused his jaw to unhinge. One of the boys from Melody's class –Narruk if Nathan remembered correctly– had just entered from one of the changing rooms with a massive, battleax slung over his shoulder. The weapon was taller than Nathan and its twin blades were each shaped like a half-moon. "Narruk, what the heck is that?"

"Don't worry, Mel. This isn't the real thing. The blades are pretty blunt," Narruk said with a grin at the half-shocked, half-concerned redhead standing in front of him.

"Mel?" Nathan muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes at the much larger boy. ' _Saw him at the pizzeria, his name is… Narruk? He's gotta be the guy Zach was telling us about. The werewolf… why's he calling Mel 'Mel'?'_ The cat-boy thought to himself.

"My real ax is awesome. Good for cutting down trees or villains or well, anything else I would need to cut down." Melody narrowed her eyes at the boy and leaned to the side to get a better look at the dangerous end of the weapon.

"Doesn't look very dull to me."

"Well, it won't decapitate or disembowel anyone. Might leave some nasty bruises or break some bones but that's easily repaired, no need to worry," Narruk said with a casual wave of his hand. Melody gave him a deadpan look and sighed.

"It's usually when people say 'there's no need to worry' that I start to worry the most. Growing up with Nathan taught me that. Just… Be careful, okay?" The redhead pleaded. Narruk grinned and nodded.

"I always am. Besides, this isn't even the real Fenrir, just a replica."

"Fenrir?" Melody asked.

"That's its name. A warrior's weapon always has to have a name, Mel," Narruk replied. Melody rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Whatever, just don't kill anyone," she stated before smacking him on the chest before walking off towards Kira, who looked positively green sitting on the bench beside her partner.

"You look like you're gonna kill somebody," Payton commented with a chuckle as he lowered himself onto the bench next to Nathan, who jumped slightly at his entrance. The rather tense look that had been dominating his expression for the last few minutes shifted to something more bemused and slightly suspicious.

"Nah, just thinking of ways to beat the mutt FH2 has." Payton leaned over to glance past Nathan, trying to get a look at the boy Zach had told them about just a week prior. The brunet whistled and leaned back, clearly impressed.

"Impressive weapon, apart from looking comically massive," Payton mentioned thoughtfully. "Though, I don't think that constitutes being called a mutt. I haven't seen you that pissed in a while. What, did he make a pass at Melody or something?" He asked jokingly. When Nathan's expression turned dark, the boy's eyes widened and he scooted closer before whispering conspiratorially. "Oh my god! He did?"

"No! Not exactly. He just… she would never… gah! Why did he call her Mel?" Nathan groaned, flopping backwards onto the bench dramatically. Payton gave him a quizzical look, his head tilted slightly.

"Uh, probably because that's short for 'Melody'?"

"That's my nickname for her! He stole it!" Nathan proclaimed as quietly as possible. His friend just rolled his eyes at his statement.

"First off, that's _extremely_ original of you. Second, I'm sure a ton of people call her that. Third, I've been telling you for months to man up and confess. Something like this was bound to happen, she is, in case you haven't noticed, very pretty. Hell, if Narruk doesn't shoot his shot I may try my hand."

"I will literally claw your eyes out," Nathan threatened in a deadly serious tone. However, Payton seemed more amused than afraid and laughed.

"I'm kidding dude. Just riling you up, I would never betray you like that. My point still stands though. You've been her closest friend for the longest time but she's already making new ones here. You've got a time limit before she's gone for good, man."

"... I hate it when you're right, but it's not that simple. Fucking hell, I'd rather face that laser dude by myself with no Quirk." Nathan ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at his childhood friend, who was laughing at something her classmate had said, from the corner of his eye. ' _Damnit, I really don't wanna screw this up. We've got a good thing going… screw Payton. I can't risk what we have on some bullshit teenage crush,'_ he decided forlornly and got up to walk off the weight on his shoulders, not noticing the small girl hiding between two sets of lockers with a massive grin on her face. Once Nathan had disappeared, Andi crept out and rushed over to Kira. Without breaking stride, she snatched the girl's arm and dragged her away from her conversation with Melody, who looked after them with confusion.

"Ow! What?" Kira demanded once Andi stopped and released her. The petite brunette glanced around before she locked eyes with Eris Blackwood and motioned her over. Once both girls were standing in front of her, Andi smiled widely.

"Girls, I have got a tale to tell you!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You good, K?" Narruk asked his partner, who was looking a little pale. The boy glanced at him and nodded irritably.

"Fine. I'll be a lot better after we're outta this," he said, motioning to the tunnel they'd been led to by Castor, one of the school's two white-haired troll-like caretakers. ' _Little dudes creep me the hell out. Like freaky goblins.'_ Narruk nodded at his teammate, pushing all thoughts of the twins from his mind and focusing on the battle ahead.

"Alright, want me to buy you some time to recover?" Kenny looked at him tersely and shook his head. Over the past week, Narruk had found out that the purple-haired boy could be quite grumpy in dark areas due to his Quirk.

"No. You're close range. We can't afford Jahaziah's Quirk to take you out. Just… just try and keep them distracted for a minute or two. No fighting but maybe taunt or intimidate them with Fenrir." Narruk looked a bit annoyed at the 'no fighting' part but shrugged and heaved the massive weapon from its shoulder sheath.

"No worries, K. You just worry about recharging," he said confidently. Kenny sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You're just gonna rush in aren't you?"

"Depends on the battlefield," Narruk answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders. ' _If we're put on a terrain like the forest Clara and Sirius fought in, then this gets significantly harder. So many variables to screw over our plans. Ten bucks it was Mr. Holls's idea to give us our matchups a week beforehand so he could screw up any plans we made.'_ Almost as if he could hear his student's thoughts – Narruk didn't really know if that was possible over the roaring crowd – Derrick Holl cleared his throat over the loudspeaker and began to introduce the fighters, though the wolf hardly paid him any mind, his focus firmly on the center of the arena instead, which was splitting and growing. "This is it. Come on, be something good!"

"That's certainly… unique," Kenny deadpanned as the stadium was filled with the noise of massive metal gears locking into place. Looming between them, and completely blocking their view of their opponents, was a massive titanium section of what looked to be a suspension bridge. While Narruk couldn't help but stare up in awe, barely noticing the lapping waves of the pool that had risen with the bridge at his feet, his partner gasped and shook his head in disbelief. "It's the old Manhattan Bridge, or a part of it anyway."

"Seriously? I thought they tore that down ages ago," Narruk remarked. He walked over to the ladder in front of them and grasped the rung directly level with his head. "We've got a climb ahead of us. You wanna take a minute to compose yourself while I climb up?"

"Sounds good," Kenny said as his sank to his knees and sighed with relief. The sun's light made his sallow skin seem even more sickly and pale. Narruk nodded, re-holstered his ax, and began his ascent. ' _How the hell are they hiding this shit underneath the parking lot? There has to be some sort of city code against having underground bridges, right?'_ he pondered. The climb was a lot longer than he'd expected, long enough for the teen to start working up a sweat in the late morning heat but after a solid three minutes of grabbing rung after rung, he reached the topmost one and pushed himself over the edge of the ledge.

"Oh goddamnit, that's annoying," he groaned. Further separating him from his prey were hundreds of vehicles, ranging from sports cars to large delivery trucks and spanning all seven of the bridge's lanes, all interlocked as if they were perpetually trapped in rush hour traffic. They packed so tightly together, in fact, that it would be very difficult for Narruk to move his tall, muscular frame at all, let alone swing his six-foot battleax. ' _Brute strength it is.'_ Aside from that inconvenience, and despite the sheer mass of the structure, he still could not see his opponents. The wolf inside him hated being the _hunted_ instead of the _hunter_ and for once, Narruk didn't argue. Even with the crowd completely surrounding them on all sides, the stillness of the bridge unnerved him greatly.

"How's it look?" Kenny huffed as he struggled up from the ladder. Narruk quickly rushed over and gave him a hand, noticing that his skin was visibly less pale, though still nowhere near his normal complexion.

"You good, K? You weren't really down there all that long." Kenny shrugged and began scanning the battlefield, just as Narruk had been moments prior.

"Fine. Better off up here anyway. What've they been doing?" He asked, still out of breath from his climb. Narruk sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose.

"No idea. Apparently, we don't get the same experience as Clara and them. The damned crowd is blocking out my smell and hearing. I wonder how many people know they're eating stale popcorn?" Narruk wondered, still slightly overcome by the barrage against his enhanced senses.

"Focus up, Alpha. What's our play?"

"Uh… charge in guns blazing? Not our best option but we've gotta get this over with quickly if we wanna avoid their Quirks," Narruk decided, pointing towards the middle of the bridge where a large, armored vehicle stood. "We can get a good vantage point from there."

"You know, this is probably gonna be a trap and end up with _us_ on the bad end of an ambush, right?" Kenny inquired. Narruk grinned wolfishly and unhooked Fenrir from his back. He held it parallel to his chest and, in a display of strength, hopped onto the roof of a nearby car.

"Yeah, I don't much care to be honest. Let's get this show started, shall we?" He asked as he leaped from one car to the next on a direct path to the armored car. Kenny, however, moved at a much more sedate and lethargic pace, squeezing through the traffic and stopping every few moments to catch his breath. When he was about two-thirds of the way to his destination, Narruk glanced back and frowned at his teammate, who was several dozen meters behind. Luckily it seemed as if the longer he was on the bridge the healthier and less pale he looked. He was so distracted with his partner that he didn't notice movement until it was far too late and his entire world went dark.

"Narruk!" Kenny shouted. The wolf turned his head in the direction of the sound but continued to blink and shake his head violently, as if trying to dissuade an annoying fly. The second attack came just as quickly, as a glowing red sword sliced through the mirror of a pickup truck where Kenny had been standing seconds before. His quick reflexes just barely managed to save him from the strike, though they also put him off balance and sent him careening into another truck. Before him stood a slightly heavy set boy with auburn hair and, most interestingly, two large, black rectangular object protruding from his elbows. Jake Schmiede narrowed his eyes and swung his sword again, and again Kenny reacted just in time to roll out of the way. "Damn."

"Yahoo! I can't believe it worked!" Jahaziah Cortés cheered from his perch on the top of a flower delivery truck. He turned his head wildly, further messing up his spiky black hair, before settling on a spot ten feet to the right of his teammate, flashing a smile and giving the empty space a thumbs up. "Ow! Damned cars. Have you got Kenny yet, Jake?"

 **Jahaziah Cortés**

 **His Quirk: Blind**

 **Jahaziah's Quirk allows him to completely blind any targets within a four meter radius, though he himself is not immune to its effects.**

"Working on it!" Jake growled back and thrusted again with his glowing weapon. This time Kenny wasn't quite fast enough and screamed in pain as the blade sliced through his sleeve and left a small cut on his bicep. While the wound itself was small, the skin surrounding it began to bubble. ' _This is extremely bad. I don't have enough power saved up yet to go full power but I can at least push back… I think,'_ he thought gravely. Kenny closed his eyes and his body began to shine. Jake's eyes narrowed and his sword disappeared from his hand. The metallic objects extending from his elbows burned a deep red, making it appear as if they were made from pure magma, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. In the blink of an eye, a bright red substance started to form a glowing shield in front of him.

"Solar Flare!" Kenny roared and released a torrent of heat and light that slammed into Jake's shield with enough force to push him back until his spine connected with the side of a red van. Still, his shield held and the moment the blast ended and the spots cleared from his vision, the brunet rushed forward, only to find that his target had disappeared.

"Damnit."

"Damnit? Why damnit? Did you freakin' lose him? I told you to be on your damned guard! You had one job Jake!" Jahaziah shouted irritably. The boy had abandoned his perch and had adopted the strategy of following Narruk, though he stayed very clear of the wolf's enraged swings of his ax. Jake's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he turned to glare at his teammate, forgetting for a moment that the other boy couldn't see his anger.

"I have one job because _you_ screwed up yours! You were supposed to wait until they were together!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Just hurry up and catch Sunny-boy so we can tie up the executioner over there." Jake scowled and turned just in time to block Kenny's haymaker. A plume of smoke rose from the spot on his arm where the other boy's fist had connected with but neither seemed to notice. Kenny grimaced and took a step back before firing another _Solar Flare_ at his opponent, who deftly dodged and responded by creating a large, double-sided ax, not entirely dissimilar to Narruk's.

 **Jake Schmiede**

 **Quirk: Flame Construct**

 **By absorbing heat in the air around him, Jake can use the metal bars in his arms to create objects. He's gotta be careful though, if he absorbs too much heat he'll get sick**

"Narruk! You've gotta snap out of it! Take out Jahaziah and you can free yourself!" Kenny bellowed to his teammate, whose head twitched slightly in his direction. Narruk growled and tried to push the sounds and scents of the crowd from his mind. ' _Focus, damnit!'_ he scolded himself, but the boost his other senses got from his lack of vision was turning out to be more of a detriment. The mild chatter and cheers from the crowd thumped against his eardrums while the thousands of different smells were burning the interior of his nose. He heard what he thought to be the voice of his gloating opponent somewhere off to his right and brought his ax down in an arc, slicing through the hood of another vehicle. Then, he heard the telltale sound of someone slamming into metal and swearing under their breath. ' _So that's it? His blindness affects himself?'_ Narruk thought. In a move of desperation, he wound up and threw his ax like a javelin towards the source of the noise.

"Holy shit!" Jahaziah screamed as the blade of the ax embedded itself into the asphalt beside him. There was a sound of groaning metal and, based purely on instinct, he ducked just as something heavy smashed into the delivery truck behind him, showering him with fragments of glass. "What the hell was that, Jake?"

"He threw a car door at you! Forget about it and focus on keeping him contain– agh!" Jake's voice was cut off as Kenny blasted him with another beam of light. The purple-haired boy was breathing heavily but looked no less determined. He turned and shot another blast at Jahaziah, who'd just gotten back to his feet only to be knocked backwards and hit his head on the ground. In an instant, vision came flooding back to both him and Narruk, who had to cover his eyes at the intensity of the sun.

"Narruk, your ax!" Kenny shouted. The wolf recovered quicker than Jahaziah and sprinted forward, ripping his weapon from the ground and bringing it around just in time to block an attack from Jake. The air around them filled with the acrid smell of burning metal as Narruk's Fenrir held back Jake's Flame Construct. The deadlock lasted for a few moments until Narruk used his superior strength to push back Jake and snuck a glance to his teammate, who was continuously firing blast after blast of solar energy at a frazzled Jahaziah.

"You guys are pretty good. Nice to get a workout before the real battle next round," Narruk commented offhandedly. Jake knit his brow and frowned, slightly annoyed at his opponent's dismissal. He quickly swung his ax, trying to catch his opponent off guard but Narruk was slightly faster and the two were once again deadlocked. ' _This is fine. As long as we stay in no man's land my construct can burn through his handle. Once he's disarmed, I can–'_ Jake's thought process was abruptly cut short as Narruk, seeing the shaft of his ax almost completely burned through did something unexpected. He moved his grip so that one of his hands was resting just below the meeting point of their weapons and, right as Jake saw what he was about to do, shifted his weight and power to that hand while leaning slightly to the left. Jake's construct was forcibly yanked from his hands and went soaring out of sight, followed by the butt end of Fenrir smacking into his chin and snapping his head back, though the force from the blow caused the ax's shaft to break in half. Using his momentum, Narruk swung around and planted his foot into the stomach of his still slightly dazed opponent, which sent him crashing onto the hood of a car. "Stay."

"Gah!" Kenny shouted from somewhere behind him. Narruk turned just in time to see his partner slam into the ground with a sickening thud. He locked eyes with Jahaziah and started to run towards him when a searing hot pair shot up both his arms. As it turned out, Jake wasn't as stunned as Narruk had originally though. While the boy hadn't gotten up from the car's hood, his hand produced a pair of shackles, connected to a burning red chain, that had flown through the air and hooked onto Narruk's wrists. The smell of charred flesh filled his nose as he growled angrily.

"I told you to stay." Jake gave him a look of loathing and yanked the chains tighter, forcing Narruk's arms back and making him sigh. ' _People never learn,'_ he thought to himself before he grabbed ahold of the chains – which did _not_ feel particularly good – and pulled as hard as he could. With a look of surprise, Jake was dragged off the car and flew through the air towards his opponent. Narruk turned, still trying to ignore the stinging pain caused by the shackles and, right as Jake reached him, brought up his knee into the boy's stomach. He gasped in pain and coughed up blood before falling to the ground and curling up. "Good, now… K?"

"Narruk! Brace yourself!" Kenny, who was being pinned down by Jahaziah, shouted as his body began to glow a deep shade of orange. Narruk's eyes widened and he quickly followed the command, grabbing his downed enemy and dragging him to safety behind a water truck. Jahaziah tried in vain to tie up Kenny in the capture string before it was too late. "Supernova!" His hostage screamed. There was a blinding flash of light and the center of the Manhattan Bridge exploded.

In the seconds that followed, Kenny became aware of two things. The first was just how bad the sunburns on both him and Jahaziah would be. The second… was that both he and his opponent were in the midst of falling over a hundred feet to their dooms and he couldn't help but scream. Thankfully, their descent came to a very abrupt end when a hand latched onto his outstretched arm and the back of Jahaziah's shirt. Narruk strained with the weight of both boys, especially considering how tenuous his grip of Jahaziah was, and he cried out as his feet, wedge in the window of a tipped over car to keep his from falling with them, began to slip. "Hold on idiots!" He called. Kenny wondered what he meant but then he felt himself swaying like a pendulum.

"Narruk, wait!" He shouted just before Narruk, the moment he hit the apex of his sway, released him and sent him flying back onto the bridge. For a brief second, he stared at the image of his partner hanging by his toes over a large, circular hole with another teen clutching onto his arm. Then, of course, he remembered where he was and shook his head before rushing over to help Narruk. "What about the other one?"

"Shouldn't be moving anytime soon! Kneed him pretty hard in the gut," Narruk said, straining to pull Jahaziah back over the side of the hole. Once all three of them were safely back on the bridge, Narruk grabbed their opponent and tied his hands together.

"Wha–?"

"Stay."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Thank goodness. You had me worried," Melody admitted, letting out a breath she'd been holding since the moment Narruk had dove to the side of the hole to catch his teammate and opponent. Nathan narrowed his eyes at the image on the television screen of Narruk tying up a nearly passed-out Jake. ' _Damnit, guys. You just had to lose and make him look cooler? Gah! Useless!'_ the blond thought. It seemed his irritation wasn't as well contained as he thought because Melody glanced at him and frowned. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah! Little bummed my classmates put on such a good show. Now _I_ have to put in more effort to show I'm the best," he recovered. The girl sitting beside him rolled her eyes.

"Must be such a bother," she said sarcastically. Nathan grinned at her and shrugged.

"Has its perks."

"I bet it does. Now, before you go monologuing about yourself _again_ , do you remember our strategy or do I have to go over it for the fifteenth time?" She asked.

"God, stop! Strategy, strategy, strategy that's _all_ you talk about!" The blond complained, groaning in annoyance. Melody gave him a look of irritation and smacked his arm.

"This is important! In ten minutes it'll be us out there fighting. We cannot lose in the first round and our opponents are tough."

"Oh please, Benji's an idiot and Hazel's fun-sized. What do we have to worry about?" Nathan retorted dismissively. Melody glared at him, a look he'd seen countless times over the course of their friendship but it never ceased to give him goosebumps.

"Benji, contrary to popular belief, has a pretty good head on his shoulders when he isn't hitting on anyone and Hazel is extremely intelligent _and_ her Quirk is especially powerful. We can't afford to treat them as a joke!" She spat harshly.

"Yeah… but you've got me."

"Yeah, that's a consolation," Melody replied sardonically. Nathan gave her a pointed look and his expression turned determined.

"Seriously. I'm with you till the very end, Mel. I can promise you, there is absolutely no way we are losing until we fight each other in the finals. These teams have had what, a week to build up their teamwork and train? We've been doing that for ten years! We've got this." Melody's annoyance quickly washed away and she smiled.

"You're right. We can win this… as long as _you_ stick to the strategy."

"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Alright, how was that? Next week is finally Melody and Nathan's turn. I won't keep you all long, so let's get to the preview.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 30: Benji's Bet**


	31. Chapter 30: Benji's Bet

**Benji's Bet**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

The sound of the crowd thrummed against Melody's eardrums. She hadn't anticipated just how loud the tunnel they emerged from would be nor how close it would be to the crowd. The cheers from spectators, the calls of various vendors shouting out their goods, and the overshadowed victorious music still playing from Narruk's victory nearly five minutes ago made the pit in her stomach deepen. Even Nathan looked apprehensive, staring at the ceiling and tapping his foot, as he usually did when he was nervous. It seemed as if all the positive energy they'd created with their talk just moments ago had been sucked away. Every attempt she made to banter with her partner died right before it left her mouth and, by the way he kept opening and closing his mouth, it seemed Nathan was having a similar problem. So, the two stood in silence until Mr. Holl's voice shook the foundation of the stadium. " _Alright, folks. Time to get to our third match. This one will be between the team of Scarlette Phantom and Leo and the team of Rubato and Benji. Now, let's see whi–"_

" _Oh! She's in this one? Wahoo! Go Scarlette!"_ Oddball cheered over the microphone. Nathan raised an eyebrow and glanced over at his partner, who simply shrugged.

"He... did teach my mom," she said as an explanation, an exasperated expression on her face. Her childhood friend snorted and shook his head.

" _So much for impartiality. Uh, anyway… this match will take place on the Plateau field. Elvira, take it from here,"_ Holl said. As their history teacher began bellowing the rules in her thick southern drawl, the ground split and Melody got her first look at their battlefield. It was an uneven, gravel surface with a few dozen large, spear-like rocks protruding from it. ' _Shouldn't impact our strategy too much. This is good for us,'_ she thought, not noticing that Nathan was walking out until he turned and called her name.

"You just gonna stand there all day?"

"Can't let you have all the glory. Your ego is big enough," she quipped back and, as one, they stepped out of the tunnel and into the arena. Used to the fluorescent lighting of the prep room and tunnel, the dazzling sunlight blinded her for half a second. When her vision returned she glanced at Nathan and nodded. In response, the feline grinned and moved several paces to her left. Across the field, partially blocked by the pillars of rock, she could see her opponents. Hazel stood off to the side of her partner, a mix of irritation and embarrassment on her face. Then there was Benji, standing tall with a smile on his face and looking as if he'd just gotten some very good news. Like Nathan, there was a bravado in his gait, though his was cockier while her partner was all confidence. The moment his eyes fell on her, his grin widened and he winked. Beside her, Nathan growled deep in his throat and she noticed his fingernails transforming into claws as his pupils turned to slits. "Calm down. Remember the plan."

"Right… plan," Nathan murmured back, though Melody could tell he hadn't really been listening. She rolled her eyes and turned back to glare at her foes. Ms. Whittaker, seeming to notice Nathan and Benji's anticipation, stepped forward and spoke loudly, her voice amplified throughout the stadium by the microphone in her hand.

"Alright! The third match is about to get underway! I want a nice, clean match. No hits below the belt and no attacking with the intent to kill. Maiming is frowned upon but not… not illegal." This announcement, much to the chagrin of Melody and the amusement of Nathan, was met with a booming chorus of cheers. "Yeah… alright! Let's get this match started, shall we?"

"This is it," Melody muttered. Nathan glanced at her quickly before cracking his neck and lowering himself into a crouch. Elvira blew her whistle, signaling the start, but before anyone could move Benji called out from across the arena.

"Scarlette! What'dya say we make this a bit more interesting?" He asked. Melody rolled her eyes and prepared to continue with their plan, ignoring the boy, but unfortunately, Nathan decided to be himself and shouted back.

"How so? Fight with our eyes closed? One arm tied behind our backs? Beauty contest?" Benji laughed and shook his head.

"A bet." Melody almost groaned. She knew where this was going. Her teammate, on the other hand, appeared oblivious and motioned for Benji to continue. "If we win, Scarlette has to go on a date with me."

"Wha–?" Nathan sputtered, his bravado evaporating. Melody sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ' _This is the twelfth time he's asked me out now. Seems he wanted an audience so I couldn't refuse his bet, not to mention… well, Nathan's always been protective. This'll put him off his game, which he'd have to be at the top of to beat Hazel,'_ her musing was cut off as her teammate huffed angrily and started taking a step forward, only to stop when Melody grabbed his arm. "No! What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you think we'd a–"

"What do we get if we win?" Melody asked, cutting him off. He turned and gave her an incredulous 'you cannot be serious' look as Benji shrugged his shoulders.

"Up to you. Won't matter what you pick anyway, there's no way we're losing this!" Melody rolled her eyes at his arrogance and thought for a moment.

"If we win, which we will, you have to clean the girl's dorm every Saturday for the rest of this semester. How's that?"

"What? You think _that's_ a punishment?" Her opponent scoffed. With every word the boy spoke, the anger rolling off of Nathan grew. Soon, she'd have to physically hold him back from mauling Benji. ' _Why is he so peeved? It isn't like Benji's asking_ him _out on a date in front of tens of thousands of people. If anyone should be angry it should be me,'_ she thought, giving her partner a sideways glance to make sure he didn't do anything too rash. "You're on!"

"I'm gonna claw his eyes out," Nathan grumbled irritably.

"No, you will not. Focus on Hazel, you should be able to match her speed. Stick to the plan," Melody chastised. Her partner scoffed but appeared to relent as he began stalking slowly to the left side of the stadium, his gaze now focused on the short brunette, who'd largely remained quiet and was staring into the crowd with an unfocused expression. Once Nathan started getting closer, her attention returned in an instant and, before the feline could react, she disappeared in a blur and reappeared beside him. Only his superhuman reflexes allowed him to dodge her side kick and skid back across the rocky surface. ' _What the hell? Fuck_ _,_ _she's faster than I thought,'_ he observed as the girl again rushed him at blinding speeds, however, this time he was more prepared and focused on using his other senses rather than his eyes. His brow scrunched up in confusion as he countered her next palm strike with a haymaker, which she dodged easily but averted her own attack. ' _Her footsteps they're… off.'_

Meanwhile, Melody ducked underneath Benji's fist and planted her foot squarely in his stomach, knocking him back. The boy coughed and shook his head before smacking his hand against a nearby stalagmite. For the briefest second, Melody noticed a dull glow between his palm and the rock. ' _He applied a pole to that rock. His right hand is… north I think. So I have to avoid his left hand at all costs unless I wanna be stuck to a rock and unable to fight. Nathan better not be getting distracted,'_ she thought. Benji grinned cheerily at her, though it quickly fell back into an expression of concentration as she charged at him. The moment she entered his range, he thrust his left arm forward… only for it to go right through her ethereal chest. He gasped at the severe chill that spread throughout his body as Melody's Wraith passed through him with ease. The moment she was completely separated from him, she phased back and swept his legs out from under him. Benji hit the ground hard and had to hastily roll away from the redhead's heel. "You're tougher than I gave you credit for, Hallo- er Scarlette."

"I'm not really surprised," Melody replied sardonically as she avoided his next punch. As she spun away, Benji turned to face her again with a grin on his face. Only too late did Melody realize what was about to happen. The boy's left palm lit up with a faint blue aura and the sound of something shooting through the air registered just before that something slammed into the small of her back. The redhead grunted in pain but reacted quickly and shifted to her Wraith just as Benji attempted to capitalize on his successful attack. His face soured as the grapefruit-sized rock shot into his open palm. "When you were on the ground, you must've touched that rock. You're smarter than I gave you credit for."

 **Benji Wallaby**

 **His Quirk: Polarize**

 **Benji can apply a magnetic pole to a person or object by using his hands. His right hand applies a 'North Pole' while his left applies a 'South Pole'. He cannot apply a pole to himself, however.**

"You'd be surprised. Although I can't take all the credit. Cammie did most of the research and spying on you guys, she's great by the way. Oh, and I was thinking Thai for our date, that alright with you?" Benji asked tauntingly as he charged her again. Melody grimaced and dodged to the side of his strike and attempted to kick him in his exposed ribs. Her kick landed but her opponent quickly countered by trapping her ankle between the crook of his elbow and his ribcage. Her ankle twisted uncomfortably, Melody grunted and again shifted into her Wraith form. Unlike before, Benji didn't allow her to get away scot-free. He relentlessly pursued her, making sure to stay right in her personal space and, at most times, have a body part recklessly flung into her ghostly figure. As his assault continued, the strain it was having on Melody became apparent. Her movements were getting more sluggish and her form constantly wavered. ' _Crap, this is getting bad. Hazel must've told him about my time limit. At this rate, I'm not going to be able to fully recover for our next match… assuming we make it out of this one,'_ she thought urgently, leaping back as far as she could but to no avail as Benji mimicked her every move. Then, to make matters worse, Nathan glanced over at her.

"Mel!" He cried out as her form faltered again and she fell to one knee. This momentary lapse in concentration turned catastrophic as Hazel slipped past his guard and drove her fist into his chin. The blow sent Nathan reeling back, which his opponent took advantage of and delivered another palm strike to his solar plexus. "Shit!"

"Nathan!" Melody called. In a risky maneuver, she leapt back just out of range and, as Benji charged at her, shifted back into her human form. This resulted in her opponent barreling straight into her and sending the two falling hard to the rocky terrain. Thankfully for the redhead, it seemed as if Benji had gotten the worst of the charge as he took just a second too long to get back to his feet. In that brief moment, Melody delivered a brutal kick to the boy's chest before backing off and trying to catch her breath. When her instincts alerted her to another presence nearby, she wasted no time in turning and flinging out her fist at her childhood friend, who easily dodged and gave her a worried look.

"You good, Mel?" Despite the fact that she was breathing heavily with sweat pouring down her forehead, Melody nodded and then shook her head, trying to clear the building migraine. ' _She's not really doing that well. Benji must be putting her through the wringer… ugh, that's a mental image I did_ not _want to see. Come on, focus. We've gotta find a way to break through these two. So far we've just been matching them blow for blow if not outright losing ground. Mel is gonna have to rely on her combat skills instead of her Quirk while she recovers… which will slow her recovery time. Ideally, we'd need to take out Hazel first in order to gain any sort of advantage. She's too damned fast for Melody to fight, especially in her current state but she can't get hit by Benji or it's all over. We need to tip the balance somehow.'_ Nathan frowned at their opponents, who seemed just as keen as them to take this momentary breather. "They're uh… they're a bit more prepared than I imagined."

"Oh really? You think so?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me about how right you were later, for now, we've gotta figure something out." Melody took a deep breath and stood up straight, staring across the field to where their opponents were standing and talking in hushed tones.

"I'm guessing you can't hear what they're saying?" She asked, to which Nathan responded with a pained shake of his head. "Thought not. Well, I'm open to suggestions."

"Obviously we've gotta take out H– Mel!" Unfortunately, it seemed like their opponents were done with their own strategizing and didn't intend to prolong the match any longer. Right as he had begun talking about taking out Hazel, a spot on Melody's back began to glow a bright pink and she flew backward into a stalagmite, crying out in pain as the rock dug into her flesh. Nathan turned away from her just in time to block Hazel's flying roundhouse kick with his forearm, though the force of the blow pushed him back several paces. "Damnit!"

As Melody struggled against the unbelievably strong force holding her firmly to the rock, Benji sauntered forward, ignoring his teammate's calls for him to help her out, and grinned. "Sorry about that. Got a mark on you when we got entangled once you turned back into you. Now do us both a favor and just stay still? It'll make this a whole lot easier." Melody narrowed her eyes as the boy pulled out a long strand of the capture rope given to them while they were waiting in the tunnel. The second Benji got within her range, she lashed out and cracked her foot into his left cheek, making the boy stumble back. He grunted in pain as he brought his hand up to the red mark and glared at her. "I… probably should have seen that coming. Y'know I really wish my Polarize worked on the whole body. Say, a very annoying little 'quirk' of my Quirk. Which reminds me, why haven't you just phased and freed yourself? Time limit up?"

"Mel!" Nathan called as he attempted to charge toward her, only to be stopped by Hazel grabbing his leg and sending him face-first into the rocky ground. Melody did not waste the few seconds of distraction her friend's cries had bought her. While his voice had pulled Benji's attention away, Melody shifted into her Wraith and melted into the rock. When she emerged on the other side she hissed as her head throbbed painfully.

"Oh shit," her opponent muttered when he turned back and noticed she was gone. He quickly held up his right hand, the blue aura that accompanied the use of his Quirk appearing ever so slightly before swearing under his breath and taking a few steps away from the rock. ' _His Quirk's effects are erased when I phase_ _, good to know. Hang in there Nathan,_ _we're in the endgame, just gotta get rid of this perverted bozo,'_ she thought, shifting back into her Wraith and sinking into the ground.

"Where'd she go?" Hazel inquired, appearing next to Benji in a blur. The boy shrugged his shoulders and glanced down at her.

"Where's your guy?" Hazel scrunched up her nose and glanced back over to where Nathan lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Scattered around him were frayed pieces of fabric and several deep claw marks.

"Indisposed, but he sliced up my rope. Apparently, they decided to make it Quirk restricting but not resistant. We can use yours to tie him up and then wear down Melody until she can no longer fight," the petite girl explained. The grin on Benji's face grew and he handed over his own length of rope.

"And then I can finally get my date!"

"Shouldn't we be more focused on the next round?" The brunette asked irritably, though her teammate ignored her. She sighed, turned, and began walking towards the downed Nathan, who was struggling to his feet and wiping his bloodied nose on the back of his hand. ' _Fucking hell that girl can punch. Wait… where the hell is Mel? Don't tell me she… no, they'd have announced if she'd been beaten. She's probably just hiding around one of these damned rocks. Okay Nathan, get your head in the game. I got this, I'm the boss. Let's go.'_ With his words of self-encouragement breathing a bit of life back into him, he stood tall and got into a fighting stance as Hazel neared him.

"Your Quirk really is something. I can see why Melody thought it was super speed." Hazel stopped like a deer in headlights with her eyes as wide as baseballs. Nathan grinned and cracked his knuckles before his claws re-emerged from their sheaths.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Easily. If it were really super speed than I would still be able to hear everything, albeit blended together. Your footsteps, your breathing, your heart rate, I could even track you by your scent. You just seem to instantly move. Honestly, at first, I thought it was some sorta teleportation Quirk but the way you dodge is just a little too perfect. The way you hold your breath is another indication. Your Quirk has something to do with your perception of time, doesn't it?" Nathan asked confidently and, by the look on his opponent's face, he'd been correct in his assumptions.

 **Hazel Camellia Aria**

 **Her Quirk: Time Trap**

 **While she holds her breath, Hazel can change her own perception of the flow of time. Every normal second she holds her breath feels like five seconds to her, though she can only keep her Quirk active for three seconds in real-time.**

"How the hell did he figure that out just from fighting her?" Benji mumbled to himself. As he watched, Hazel overcame her momentary shock and renewed her assault on the blond feline, though it seemed as if she had much less control over the situation than she did before. Right as Benji was about to walk over and help her, a chill went down his spine. In an instant, he felt the full weight of the lengthy battle hit him like a truck and an overwhelming sense of fatigue overtook him. Then, as he put his hands on his knees to steady himself, he saw the ground beneath him glowing a faint blue light. By the time he registered what was happening, Melody had already sprung from the earth and drove her knee into his stomach. "What the fuck?"

"Language!" She chastised, the ghostly blue aura of her Wraith form surrounding her. Her empty navy-blue eyes glaring at him through her goggles. The moment she transformed back into her human form, she charged. Benji grimaced and quickly moved out of the way of her next strike but the sudden heaviness in his muscles prevented him from dodging Melody's follow-up haymaker. Her fist connected with his chin and sent him reeling, stars dancing before his eyes. The redhead then delivered a hard kick to his sternum that forced him up against a stalagmite. Before she could advance on the boy and tie him up, something small slammed into her side and knocked her off her balance. Hazel, looking a bit worse for wear and donning a fresh-looking trio of cuts on her cheek, glared up at the taller girl before glancing over her shoulder and dodging out of the way of Nathan's roundhouse kick. The petite brunette slid back and would have fallen if not for her teammate catching her.

"What took you so long?" Nathan growled at Melody, though there was no anger behind it. The redhead spared him an exhausted look before tapping the ground with the toe of her foot.

"Took a while to right myself. Would've fallen into the abyss if not for the catwalk, then I had to wait for Hazel and you to move so I could get the drop on pervy," she explained, trying to catch her breath. Nathan nodded but then frowned and gave her an odd look.

"How the hell did you know where we were?" The girl tapped her goggles and a memory popped into Nathan's mind.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _What do those things do anyway?"_

" _The biggest thing is the infrared. Other than that, they're just advanced sunglasses."_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Advanced sunglasses, eh?"

"They did their job though, didn't they?" Nathan shrugged and took a deep breath before settling into a sprinter's starting stance. Without words, Melody followed his lead and lowered into her typical fighting stance. Then, again with no indication of his plans, her partner charged and pounced onto a stunned and unprepared Hazel. However, before he could do more than tackle her the girl wrenched herself from his grip and tried to gain some distance, only to have to activate her Quirk again to avoid Melody's fist. Benji chose this moment to intervene and come to Hazel's rescue but was stopped when Nathan, now back on his feet, performed a flip-kick, causing the boy's head to snap back. As soon as the leopard landed, he was forced back to back with Melody, who'd been hit hard by Hazel. The two exchanged a look before switching targets and restarting their previous fights. Nathan, now privy to her Quirk and it's nuances, played defense until he heard Hazel exhale then went on a quick offensive as she tried to steady her breathing. Meanwhile, Melody used the terrain and her opponent's own body to dodge his attacks before countering with her own, though she was really starting to feel the strain of her Quirk.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"GO FOR IT MY DARLING M– SCARLETTE!" Carlyle bellowed, his voice louder than even the announcer. As he watched his daughter and the Larson boy turn the tide and start to demolish the other two, the large man laughed and cheered and clapped his poor employee, who'd been struggling to run their food stand almost single-handedly, on the back. Passersby gave him odd looks but he didn't seem to care. The sight of his daughter's past three years of hardcore training finally paying off before his own eyes made everything else in the world seem meaningless. So meaningless that he didn't seem to notice two familiar whiskey-colored eyes boring holes into the back of his head, nor the sudden heatwave rolling over the concession area.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"We've gotta finish this soon, Nathan. I'm running on empty," Melody complained as she and Nathan were pushed back by their opponent's counterattack. The feline, who was now sporting a large bruise from a magnetically flung rock, scowled and parried Hazel's kick with his forearm, though the number of times he'd done so over the course of the battle had left the limb with an even darker bruise than the one on his head. Melody's eyes widened as one of the stalagmites broke apart and came flying at them. She quickly grabbed Nathan by the shoulder and, much to his chagrin, enveloped both of them in her Quirk. The rubble passed through harmlessly but Nathan growled once the chill disappeared.

"I hate when you do that."

"Oh I'm sorry, next time I'll let the rocks hit you. Duck!" Nathan heeded her words and ducked beneath another barrage of broken fragments of the field. Once he stood back up he was immediately put on the defensive by Hazel and separated from Melody. Though this didn't last long as the redhead came up from behind and grabbed Hazel around the midsection, instantly shifting both of them into her Wraith form. Before any of the other combatants could blink, the redhead lifted the smaller girl into the air and suplexed her through the ground of the arena. Her opponent now gone, Melody leaped back to her feet and shrugged at a clearly baffled Nathan. "She's fine. Pretty sure I got her on the catwalk."

"Pretty sure?" Benji protested. As if just remembering the other boy, Melody turned towards him and pulled out the capture rope, an uncharacteristically sadistic smile crossing over her face.

"You're gonna look cute dressed up in a maid's uniform." Benji's eyes narrowed and he raised both hands in an 'X' over his chest, his palms facing outwards. His palms began to glow blue and pink and, simultaneously, hundreds of pieces of rubble from around the arena began to fly towards him. He then made a sweeping gesture, sending the debris flying towards Melody and Nathan.

"Not again!"

"Your alternative is much more painful," Melody muttered as she grabbed her teammate's arm and, once again, shifted into her Wraith form. The vortex of broken rock shards shot through them, slamming into the opposite wall of the arena and the energy shield protecting the crowd from stray attacks. However, unlike before, the moment the redhead released her Quirk she cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, holding her head in her hands.

"Shit, Mel!"

"I'm f-fine, finish him," the redhead strained.

"She okay?" Benji asked, jogging towards them with a genuine concern in his expression. Nathan gave the girl one last worried look before turning and sprinting towards a shocked Benji. The boy attempted to dodge the attack, but just like earlier, the strength suddenly left his body and he'd already fallen to one knee as Nathan delivered a brutal axe kick to the top of his head. The boy collapsed in a heap, completely unconscious and for a moment, the stadium was silent.

"Benji is no longer able to battle, he has been eliminated and since she is no longer in the stadium with no feasible way to return to battle I have no choice but to declare Rubatine eliminated as well. That means the victors of this match are Scarlette Phantom and Leo!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Hm? Vesuvius, what is it?"_ As it always did, hearing her master's voice soothed the Villainess' already frayed nerves. Just seeing the spawn of her former mentor was enough to drudge up feelings she'd thought have been long dead, not to mention how close she'd come to dousing a few dozen people with lava when she'd seen… _Him_.

"Nothing, Master Plague. I've just sat through the first three fights and thought I'd give a report of what I've seen so far," she said silkily. Plague hummed in agreement but stayed silent, an indicator that she had permission to speak. "The first match was fairly unremarkable. Clara Ramirez is everything we've been told she would be. A near carbon copy of her father with slightly better morals and a sense of restraint."

" _I see. So then she's not useful to our cause then?"_

"No. Her father on the other hand. Give me a little more time to work on him. Now, the second match featured that… wolf that Puppeteer has been so fixated with. I can see why now. He is strong even without his Quirk. If our contact is correct about his origin, then he may be a useful tool to exploit later on." Though she hated the young man Plague had brought to their hideout not a week prior who claimed to personally know the student, she had to admit his accounts seemed to be right on the nose.

" _Ah, I see now why you sound irritated. Harmony Christenson's daughter, Melody Halloway. I do sometimes wonder how Carlyle is. He was a good man."_

"HE WAS–"

" _Right, right, sorry. No need to cause a scene. Anyway, now that your report is out of the way I'm glad you called. Good news on Prophet's end. Several councilors have decided to retire in the wake of the Yonkers incident. They will be formally announced next week. Once the second round of the tournament ends today, you are to come back to base and prepare for Phase Two."_ Vesuvius frowned.

"I thought Puppeteer was in charge of Phase Two. Why am I needed, Master?"

" _I have a different assignment for you. There are some loose ends I need tied up on the West Coast."_

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Hey everyone, sorry for the wait. I've been a bit overwhelmed with life recently but there is some good news coming out of that. I've quit my job! Yup, this is my last week before I'm free (and have to find a new job). Also thanks to Hiatus for Beta-ing as usual. Anyway, let me explain why this AN is a lot longer than usual. Well, the discord decided it would be a fun idea to do some Q &A with the characters of this story. At the end of each chapter, I am going to have a section dedicated to one or maybe two characters giving their answers to these questions. This chapter has the Q&A for both Melody and Nathan (thought I'd group the childhood friends together). If you guys who are not on the discord want to send in questions for any character, just shoot them over to me in a PM. Now, let's get onto the preview**

 **NEXT TIME ON THE PURPOSE OF A HERO!**

 **Chapter 31: The Ace of FH1**

 **Q &A**

 **To Melody & Nathan: Do you guys have any embarrassing photos/videos/stories of each other?**

 _Melody: With Nathan, there is no shortage of embarrassing things to say. Though if I had to pick one, it would be the picture I have of him when he got stuck in a tree when we were six. We had to call the fire department and everything!_

 _Nathan: What? You still have that picture? Gah, that's embarrassing. Uh, for Melody… oh! I think her dad has a video of her in the fifth-grade Christmas musical. She can't sing for shit!_

 _Melody: Language, Nathan!_

 **To Melody: What is your response to the rumors of a relationship with various boys and girls in your class?**

 _Nathan: Wait, what rumors!_

 _Melody: Shush. Well, I dunno. It's mostly just the typical high school rumor mill. I don't really see any of my classmates in that light yet. We've only known each other two months afterall._

 _Nathan (to himself): ...thank christ._

 _Melody: Though there are a few guys and girls I think are attractive but nothing beyond that at this point._

 **To Melody & Nathan: If there was an apocalypse, which three of your classmates would you pick to be in your survival team and why?**

 _Melody: Hm, Lyon because he can start a fire. Narruk seems like he'd have good survival skills. Uh, oh! Andi, so we could potentially communicate with other survivors._

 _Nathan: Hm… Uh, Payton because he isn't too annoying most of the time. Ryuken is pretty cool. And finally… I suppose Zach._

 **To Melody: A while back you mentioned almost losing your arm because of your quirk. Can you tell us the full story?**

 _Melody: Oh jeez. Well, long story short my moronic friends, spearheaded by brainless here, convinced me to try and steal some comic books from a local store by sticking my hand through the window. It… didn't end very well. In those days I didn't have anywhere near the control over my Quirk that I do now but thankfully they were able to reattach my hand with only this ugly scar as a reminder. Luckily my dad knew a Hero who's Quirk was centered around repairing things._

 **To Nathan: Laser pointers, like or hate? And has Melody ever used them on you?**

 _Nathan: When we were little she used to torture me for hours with those damned things. It was awful! I hate 'em!_

 **To Melody: If you could pick a martial art to practice, what would you pick?**

 _Melody: Oh, that's a good question. My fighting style right now is just a conglomeration of several arts that my dad taught me. I'd like to learn something like Muay Thai. Kinda_ _broaden_ _my style, y'know?_

 **To Melody: Do you ever use your quirk in your sleep? Or wraith the bed if you will?**

 _Nathan: Hah! I could tell you that. When she was younger she used to Wraith the bed (great phrasing by the way) almost every night to the point where her dad had to have her wear Quirk restraining bracelets so she didn't end up in the oven._

 _Melody: I don't know why he didn't just move the stupid oven. It didn't_ need _to be directly underneath my room._

 **For Melody: From what we the readers understand, your quirk is way different than your mothers, and your father is quirkless, so is your quirk a random mutation? Or is it from a different ancestor perhaps?**

 _Melody: That is a good question. From what my dad has told me, my Quirk is just like my grandfather on my mother's side. Though… we haven't spoken to them in years so I wouldn't really know for sure._

 **To Melody & Nathan: It's karaoke night! What are you singing?**

 _Nathan: Some old school rock for sure!_

 _Melody: I dunno, maybe classic rock or some indie song_

 **To Melody & Nathan: Realistically, can you keep a small child alive for a week, without direct interference?**

 _Nathan: Yes!_

 _Melody: Absolutely you could not._

 _Nathan: What? Kids are super easy! Just sit them in front of a TV._

 _Melody: That's… ugh, I feel bad for your future kids._


	32. Chapter 31: The Ace of FH1

"Can you please take this a bit more seriously?" Marcus growled, clearly annoyed at his partner who was waving to the crowd with a massive grin on her face. Eris ignored him and proceeded to blow a kiss to some random person in the crowd, though he couldn't tell who. ' _I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Just getting her off her ass to train was a bigger struggle than the entrance exam. How in the world does Alex deal with her constantly? He must have the patience of a freaking saint,'_ he thought bitterly. Turning his eyes away from his teammate, or cheerleader if she had her way, Marcus glared across the field at his opponents. They were an odd pair, to say the least. The boy, Liam if he remembered correctly, walked solemnly beside his partner, his eyes drooping as if he were on the verge of sleep. ' _Wonder what those stitches around his neck are. Part of his Quirk?'_ The girl on the other hand, really rubbed him the wrong way. Much like Eris, she was waving to the crowd and smiling, though hers seemed more polite and reserved compared to his partner's arrogance. The look in her pale violet eyes, however, shone with an emotion he'd come to attribute to his loud-mouth, hot-tempered classmate Clara. An odd mixture of disgust and thinly veiled anger.

"So, what's the plan? Want me to take stitches while you go and woo the princess?" Eris asked. The fact that she was actually addressing him for once certainly caught him off guard and it took a moment for him to answer her query.

"Actually, I think we should stick together for this one. We don't know what our opponent's Quirks are which could cause us some issues." Eris frowned and tilted her head to the side, an action she seemed to do quite frequently and that Marcus had quickly noticed made her look like a dog. He refrained from mentioning the comparison however, feeling that his partner might not find it as humorous as he did.

"I thought you said something earlier this week about finding out their Quirks… or something, I dunno. Did that not go over well for ya?"

"Actually, I asked _you_ to try and figure out their Quirks. You said 'sure, sure, I'll get right on that' and then went straight back to playing on your phone." The girl pursed her lips and appeared poised to answer when something small and sharp pierced the skin of her forearm. Marcus didn't even have time to swear before several of the sharp objects, which looked to be some sort of barbed hook, sank through the thin, heat-resistant fabric of his jumpsuit and pierced his chest. While not the most painful experience he'd experienced, Marcus still grunted when the wires connected to the hooks pulled taut, their barbs keeping them implanted. The boy recovered quickly and glanced down in slight bemusement at the sight of his attacker. Half a dozen six-inch tall metal figures sculpted in the appearance of armored warriors, each with a strand of pale blonde hair tied around their necks.

"What the fuck?" Eris cried as several more of the warriors crawled out of the sand behind her and launched their own harpoons into her lower back, each making a slight pinging sound once it entered her flesh. She quickly produced a long, black rod from her wrist and used it to smash three of the little automatons. Marcus meanwhile, turned his attention on the smirking blonde girl standing a dozen meters away, while her partner was nowhere in sight.

"She's the one behind it."

 **Kindra Kingsly**

 **Her Quirk: Animate**

 **By tying a strand of her hair around any animalistic or humanoid object, she can breathe life into them. If the hair or figure is broken, though, she'll suffer the backlash.**

"Our Quirks aren't the flashiest, nor the best combat wise. However, I believe you'll find us quite stubborn," Kindra said arrogantly as she flicked her wrist and several more of the figures emerged from the desert sand beneath their feet. Marcus winced as he tore several of the hooks from his back and kicked away the little men.

"Jeez, someone's a bit full of herself," Eris commented. Marcus shot her a glare before quickly dodging another round of fire from the golems.

"Stay on alert! We still have no idea where her partner is!" He shouted. Eris nodded, annoyed, and looked back down as another one of the soldiers attempted to stab at her ankle with its other arm, this one equipped with a sharp pair of tongs. Instead, its head was separated by a thin and sharp offshoot of black bone that shot from the girl's calf. The figure's body shivered for a moment before crumpling to the ground. It could have been just her imagination (her's had a habit of messing with her from time to time) but as the puppet collapsed Eris saw the briefest flash of a grimace on their opponent's face. The brunette turned and used the staff of black bone to smash another trio of charging figures before turning her attention back to their master's expression, which again wavered slightly. ' _Wait_ _, she gets hurt by her Quirk too? Does it happen with every one of these little bastards that we kill? Man, I thought my backlash was bad,'_ she thought, glancing down at the small trickle of blood staining her exposed calf. "Oi, Prince Charming! Her Quirk works like mine, tak– gah!"

"Now, now, none of that." As she had turned to call out to her teammate, something latched onto her ankle and hauled her down to the ground face-first. Eris groaned and spat out a mouthful of sand just before another hand emerged from the dune and grabbed her by the throat. As her air supply was being cut off, she caught sight of her armless opponent from the corner of her eye. He stood several meters away and seemed not at all perturbed by the fact that both his arms were missing, nor the fact that one of his eyes was nothing more than an empty socket.

 **Liam Heartsworth**

 **His Quirk: Fall Apart**

 **Fall Apart: He can detach his extremities from his body, letting them roam free under his control. While he can detach his body parts, he cannot reattach them without the specialized gear kept in his first aid kit.**

On the verge of blacking out from lack of air, Eris was seized by a third arm and yanked to her feet. The pressure on her larynx was suddenly removed as Marcus ripped it off and threw it behind them where it began to squirm and pull itself along with its fingers, effectively eliminating any dreams the brunette had had before the match of checking out the food stalls. "F-Fucking hell," she sputtered, her voice hoarse. Her partner gave her a look of concern, which surprised her as she'd become used to the annoyed or scolding looks he'd given her the past week, before raising his boot and slamming it down on the boy's remaining hand, which quivered and tried to wretch itself free. After a few seconds of struggling, and with the uneven terrain playing to its advantage, the arm freed itself and scurried back over to Liam, who glanced down at it mournfully. "The girl… she's like me. Her… her Quirk hurts her. Aim for the dolls."

"You good?"

"Y-Yeah, fine." However, she was not exactly fine. Not only was breathing difficult but her mind was still a bit shaken from nearly being strangled by a disembodied arm of some freaky-looking dude with one eye. Her partner didn't need to know that at the moment though, so she took a shaky breath and stood straight up. "I'm gonna need to wash the taste of sand outta my mouth once we win."

"Confident, aren't we?" Liam murmured, his voice sounding hollow. The boy still hadn't moved to pick up his two arms, which lay at his feet like flesh-colored snakes, and seemed to be in no hurry to. Marcus scowled and began to turn his head, perhaps looking for their second opponent. Eris wouldn't get a chance to ask him though, as their sallow-skinned opponent started running at them head-on with what remained of his arms, roughly everything above his elbow, raised in a defensive posture. Marcus moved forward to meet him but his teammate's arm shot out just in time to shove him out of the way of an attack from behind them. Kindra, it appeared, had used their momentary distraction to rush at them from their rear. It was only by luck that Eris had spotted movement in her peripheral vision and reacted on instinct. Kindra, having missed her opportunity, threw out another half dozen of the small metal men and backed up to her teammate, who scowled at her. "Wonderful sneak attack."

"Oh hush, stubby. Here's your damn eye," the girl growled, tossing the organ to its owner. Liam brushed off a few particles of sand before carefully storing the eye in the medical pouch attached to his hip. Suddenly, Kindra cried out as the six golems were easily dispatched by Eris, who'd smashed them into scrap metal with her black bone staff. Marcus used this moment to attack, aiming for the armless Liam, who was too busy attending to his teammate. Marcus' first punch made solid contact with the boy's cheek and sent him reeling, though he quickly recovered and nearly caught his opponent in the chin with a reverse roundhouse kick. Without his arms, the boy stumbled slightly on his landing, which was the only opening Eris needed to kick his legs out from under him. With nothing to brace himself, the boy's back collided with the uneven ground. If not for the little resistance given by the sand, Liam figured he'd have had the wind knocked out of him. Thankfully, the terrain once again played to his favor as he quickly recuperated and leapt to his feet. Just as quickly, however, Eris was on him again, swinging her bone staff wildly, giving him no time to relax and forcing him on the defensive. Kindra, still slightly dazed from the backlash of her Quirk, struggled to stand straight and glanced uncertainly at her struggling partner. "Crap, crap, crap. I'm almost out of golems. I could use Fluffy but I can't keep him active for very long."

"Who's Fluffy? Another one of your minions?" Marcus asked. With her attention diverted elsewhere, it was almost as if her enemy had risen from the sand. Kindra shrieked and scrambled back, trying to put distance between them. Unfortunately for her, her opponent was faster and easily pinned her to the ground, using one of his hands to keep her wrists in place, while her awkward position and the sand making it hard to get traction prevented her from struggling.

"Kindra!" Liam bellowed, his moment of inattentiveness giving Eris an opportunity to crack him across the face with her staff. The blow was hard enough to make his brain rattle around his skull as he hit the ground face-first. He flipped over onto his back, only to see a very sharp object just centimeters from his nose.

"Damsel has been eliminated!" Ms. Whittaker shouted into her megaphone, causing Liam's head to whip over in the direction of his teammate, her hands tied together and face buried in the sand. The boy's eyes then drifted over to his arms, he hadn't been focusing on making them move towards the battle and thus they were too far away to drag their way over before Eris either knocked him out or tied him up. ' _Damn you, Kindra. I told you to use Fluffy from the start. It was the only way our plan would've worked. You better not've messed up my eye too bad."_

"I surrender," he said solemnly, meters away his hands raising lethargically. For some reason, the boy couldn't bring himself to feel satisfied with his loss, no matter how hard he'd tried, nor how good he'd done. He didn't accept Eris' hand to help him up (how did she think he was supposed to grab it, with his teeth?) and ignored both his enemy's words of encouragement and his teammate's spiteful glare. He simply walked over to where Mrs. Holl had already collected his dismembered arms and followed her into the medical tunnel. ' _Damnit. My one chance to show I'm not useless and I go and screw it up.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Well, guess we know who we're fighting next," Nathan said nonchalantly, his head resting on one of the stainless steel tables set out in front of the large television screen in the Preparation Room. The boy was shirtless while his childhood friend examined the freshly bandaged cuts and the black and blue bruises marring his upper body from the fight with Hazel.

"Good for them. I was worried for a bit there. Eris isn't really… well, she's honestly not the best at teamwork. I know Marcus is always trying his best though, so I guess they had that going for them. I suppose he has some experience with bad teammates from dealing with Oliver all the time. I wonder why Eris was such a problem for him?" Melody replied, poking a particularly nasty looking bruise, making her partner jump and hiss in pain. "Don't be so dramatic."

"M'not dramatic. Don't give me that look, I'm not! Ugh, so how long until our next match?" The redhead looked over her shoulder at the posted schedule. While each of the fights was given a half-hour time frame they had been moving fairly quickly so far, with only Clara's eclipsing fifteen minutes.

"Depends, we're going to be the second match of the second round, so I'd say around… four hours?" Her announcement caused the blond to groan loudly and turn his head away from the T.V. to glare at one of the room's simple gray walls. "Hey, this just means we have plenty of time to study the competition and relax before we have to fight again. With how you usually are I'm shocked you aren't jumping for joy at getting a chance to be lazy, especially on a Saturday."

"Yeah but our fight's still got my adrenaline pumping! You can't tell me that you aren't just as hyped as I am. You've talked about nothing else all week!" He proclaimed. Melody flushed and shook her head.

"Of course I'm excited. We finally get a chance to put all those weekends we spent training to good use. Unlike you, however, I can't just go from one battle to the next. Even with Mrs. Holl's recovery pills, my head is still splitting. Another fight like that right after this one and I'd have passed out in the first few minutes." In truth, her head felt like someone had smacked her with a sledgehammer. When she'd told the nurse about it, she'd only received a quick 'Just a side effect of using your Quirk too much, it should die down' before the woman had rushed off to help, oddly enough, a pair of upperclassmen Melody had recognized. One was the boy with springs in his legs whose father had died in Yonkers (that had been the talk of the school for several weeks afterward) and he was completely covered in bee stings, courtesy of the second boy, Dominick's quiet friend, Hector.

"Ah, yes. That is something you mentioned having to work on in our last Search and Rescue class."

"Oh, hey Lyon. Grab a seat," Melody said in greeting as her ever-smiling classmate sauntered up, sitting down across from Nathan, who glanced at him warily. However, the boy seemed unperturbed and simply nodded at the bruised feline. For a moment, there was silence as the two males seemed to be sizing one another up until Melody, very discreetly, poked Nathan's largest bruise and moved to sit beside him, ignoring his pained grunt. "So, how's your week been? Have you enjoyed the festival?"

"Hm, I must say it was nothing like how I envisioned. The food was particularly… well, unhealthy and those, oh what are they called? 'Games of Chance'? Well, I found those to be quite misleading, many of them gave you _no_ chance to win at all," the boy said, appearing somewhat disgruntled at the memory.

"They're designed to be difficult, if not entirely impossible to beat. Nathan here almost tore some poor upperclassman's head off because he kept losing," Melody remarked mockingly, giving said blond an unimpressed look.

"That seems slightly dishonest."

"They gotta make money somehow, right?" Nathan replied, speaking up for the first time, though the tone of his voice made Melody give him a bemused look. If she were being honest with herself, she didn't know what was going on with Nathan recently. Ever since they'd come to the Forge he'd been slightly more aggressive and closed off, not nearly the outgoing and social boy he'd been in middle school. He would get in moods like this almost anytime someone else would join the two of them, even if he himself didn't notice. ' _I should ask around with some of his classmates, see if he's like this around them. Granted, I could just be making a big deal out of nothing. This_ is _Nathan afterall, biggest drama queen I've ever known. I just hope it doesn't affect his mindset in our next fight. I don't wanna lose because of his big head.'_

"And this is a well-known practice?" Lyon asked, snapping the redhead out of her thoughts. Looking exasperated, her friend sighed and nodded in response. For a brief moment, Lyon's ever-present smile dropped and he brought a hand up to grip his chin in contemplation. "In that case, why would the masses still fall for such a trick? That certainly is strange. I suppose it is in line with what I've observed so far. Most tend to overlook facts for… what could be."

"What the hell does that mean?" Nathan asked, looking bewildered.

"Well, in this example the average festival-goer knows that these games are rigged against them and that know with almost certainty that they will lose, yet they focus more on the infinitesimal chance of victory. It's quite fascinating if you stop and think about it."

"Dude… I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

"Nathan, language! The next match is going to start soon, save the philosophical debates for later," Melody scolded, smacking her partner's exposed bicep. On the television screen, four pictures appeared with a small blurb of information for each competitor beneath them. While she recognized the faces of her classmates Rylee and Oliver, the other two were a complete mystery. She knew nothing about the olive-skinned girl with a simple white mask covering her face and she only knew one thing about the boy. "That's the top student in your class, right?"

"Yeah. Damien Chase, he's a bit of a creep. Always appearing out of the shadows and looking like he's on death's door. Once you get to talking with him, a very rare occurrence mind you, he's kinda weird. Like, a mix between laidback and way, way too intense. I haven't seen him and Saroya go at one another yet, so this could be interesting. Your classmates are gonna have a rough time keeping up." Nathan finished his explanation just as what looked to be a section of a dark, abandoned warehouse emerged from the dark pit below.

"So, he is the one closest to me in class rankings then?" Lyon asked if possible his smile growing wider. Nathan gave him a cautious look and nodded slowly, which made the boy chuckle. "Very interesting. I look forward to the day I get a chance to fight him myself."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Oliver hated this. The crowd, the national coverage, being forced to participate in something his friends and teachers were so excited about and called a 'great honor'. The glamor, the gladiatorial combat, and especially the fact that he had to miss out on a Saturday for this made him sick to his stomach. While outwardly, his partner seemed just as off-put as he was when they stepped out of the tunnel and into the midmorning sun, his experience with the boy had taught him that any sickness he was experiencing was from his reclusiveness. Then… there was _her_. Throughout the past week and especially the morning of the competition, and ever since he'd outwitted her in one of their training simulations, Rylee had taken to either glaring at him from across the room or, if she were forced into conversation with him, speaking in short, clipped sentences. Now, as fate would have it, she'd have a perfect chance at revenge. "Alright, what's our play?"

"Stick together, use the terrain to our advantage. Let's get this over with quickly so we can rest up for the next round," Damien said lowly, his eyes scanning the decrepit building before them. Not a terrible plan, though Oliver could see no less than a dozen ways it could go terribly wrong. He sighed mournfully and began following his teammate, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the low light of the building. Once they did, he began to make out furniture similar to what one would see in any office but seriously decayed and falling apart. Water dripped from the ceiling, possibly from a broken or cracked pipe, and the floor creaked with every step they took. "Careful, this place is falling apart."

"Oh great. Just what we need. Hopefully, the steam girl doesn't blow a gasket and make this whole damned thing collapse on top of us," Oliver commented sardonically. Damien nodded with his assessment and closed his eyes for a moment, hummed thoughtfully and pointed towards a nearby wall.

"They're on the other side. Moving slowly and staying a few meters apart."

"Probably trying to avoid an easy capture from us. Our Quirks are right for it. I suppose you want to just bust down the wall and attack head-on, yeah?" Oliver asked, already knowing the answer before his teammate nodded. The man was annoying like that. When they'd first started working together (after no small amount of threatening from Marcus to actually leave the dorm and train), he'd pegged his teammate as someone similar to him, able to think without being a reckless neanderthal. However, he was soon proven wrong. For all his strength and apparent intelligence, Damien was just as battle-hungry as every other wannabe Hero at the Forge. So, after a bit of discussion and with no other option available (though he did like the idea of surrendering like that walking corpse from the last fight), Oliver stepped over to the wall and reared back his fist. His partner had deemed the wall structurally unstable and easy to knock over or breakthrough, from the looks of it anyone with a functioning mind could tell he was right, so the Rubberband Quirk user should have had no issue. Like most things though, it didn't go exactly to plan. The moment his fist connected with the wall a white hot pain shot up his rubber limb and he pulled back his now mangled and clearly broken hand to cradle it against his chest.

"Oliver! Damnit, when'd you get here?" Damien shouted as something in Oliver's mind clicked and the wall he'd punched transformed into a sturdy steel support beam. ' _Shit, I was so focused on Rylee wanting revenge. Fucking_ hell _I'm an idiot,'_ he thought as he glared at his opponents. While Rylee looked just as pissed as ever when around him, the other girl just smiled triumphantly as the red glow to her eyes dimmed.

 **Saroya Sawyer**

 **Her Quirk: Visual Hallucination**

 **Her Quirks gives her the power to modify the visual sensory information of a person's head while their brain is processing it. She makes them see what she wanted them to instead of what their eyes observe. However, she has to be able to see her target.**

"You think I'd forget about you being able to find us, Spooks? Not a chance," Saroya said confidently. Damien scowled at the nickname before raising his hands, at which point the black-haired girl quickly looked at Rylee who immediately exploded into a cloud of searing hot steam. As Oliver had predicted, the building was in such bad shape that the floor beneath them collapsed, plunging the four fo them into an even darker basement. Always the quick thinker, Oliver's non-broken hand extended and wrapped around the same metal pillar he'd punched while under the effects of his opponent's Quirk. This allowed him to lower himself much more gently to the bottom floor than the other three. Though he couldn't see in the pitch black, he could head three thuds followed by pained groans as they hit the concrete floor. "Well… ugh, that sucked."

"He can't use his Quirk now though, so that's a plus," Rylee replied, sounding fairly winded herself. ' _If I remember correctly, producing that much steam all at once is pretty exhausting for her. They were counting on that combo working to get us into a place where Damien couldn't use his Quirk and where I'd be unable to see or use one of my limbs. If this wasn't such a fucking bother, I'd almost be impressed,'_ Oliver thought bitterly as he neared the floor. As quietly as he could, he touched the floor, retracted his extended limb, and tried to focus his hearing. He had no idea where Damien was but from the varied pained sounds and sharp intakes of breath as they stumbled over the rubble, he could tell the girls were somewhere to his left. Cursing his teammate for disappearing, he quickly and silently moved toward the sounds of his enemies, reasoning that if his teammate hadn't been killed by the blast he would have the same idea. As he got closer and closer to them, something in the distance caught his eye. A small light, most likely on the complete opposite side of the room. ' _This is gonna suck.'_ Resigned to what he had to do, lest he get chewed out by Marcus and his teachers, Oliver's arm shot out, extended to its full length and slammed directly into one of the girls, he couldn't tell which. Then… he ran, making as much noise as possible to try and draw the girls towards him. By Rylee's incensed screams and the pounding of footsteps other than his own, he figured he'd succeeded. ' _That girl's Quirk shouldn't be able to activate if Damien's intel was right. She's got no clear sightline.'_ He then swore under his breath and had to leap to the side at the last possible second to avoid a blast of steam from Rylee, whose swearing and yelling gave him a very hard time pinpointing the telltale hiss of her steam holes activating.

"Just a bit closer," he muttered to himself, the faint light now only meters away. He could see the large hole in the side of the building that was allowing light to pour through and, for the first time since they'd entered the arena, could hear the roaring of the crowd. He was only six feet away from the edge of the light's reach when another blast of searing hot steam impacted on his back, throwing him off course and slamming into a moldy wooden desk that crumbled under his weight. He had only seconds to roll out of the way of Rylee's next attack before using his leg to extend out and kick her in the chest. The next thing he knew, the light was gone and he was lying at the edge of an abyss. His chest heaved in momentary panic before he heard a hiss and dove into the side. ' _It's her Quirk, moron. Get it together. Where the hell is Damien? That asshole better not have died.'_ Still caught in the hallucination, Oliver swept out his fully extended leg in an arc, which seemed like a good idea (he managed to knock one of the girls off their feet) until his foot crashed into a large, heavy item and stopped. He once again heard the hiss but this time was too slow to avoid the cloud of steam that engulfed him. His skin immediately burned in the scalding fog and his extended limb began to shrink. His pained yelp was joined by two more, though they were obviously more surprised than pained. All at once, the illusion dropped and, while the steam was still burning him, he saw both girls suspended in the air, half of their bodies obscured by darkness. "It's… about fucking time."

"Sorry, had to wait for an opening," Damien said as he stepped out of the shadows, his arms held aloft and his hands clenched into fists. "Besides, you can't have shadows without light."

 **Damien Chase**

 **His Quirk: Umbrakinesis**

 **Damien can bend shadows to his will, using them for offense, defense, or even transportation. However, if he overuses his Quirk he can become deathly ill.**

"Damnit!" Rylee growled as she shot steam and struggled to break free. Meanwhile, Saroya's eyes were covered by a thin strip of shadow, not allowing her to use her Quirk. Oliver limped his way out of the steam and almost immediately Damien broke into laughter.

"W-What the hell?"

"Please shut the fuck up."

"Yo-You're so short!"

"Exposure to heat makes rubber contract. Shut the fuck up and tie them up already, I wanna go take a nap."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Heyo, sorry for the wait (again) but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to have maybe one or two more of these double fight chapters over the duration of the tournament. As always, big tanks to Hiatus for his beta work and a pair of reminders that 1. Villain, Upperclassmen, and Pro Hero submissions are still open (I need a lot of all three but upperclassmen are the most immediate need) and 2. If you like this story check out the friggin Discord, it is awesome. Lots of fanart of the characters and a really fun community. Anyway, let's get to the preview and then…. More Q &A!**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 32: Memorized**

 **Q &A: Marcus McPherson and Oliver Ferdinand**

 **What's your favourite sport? If you care at all in this age of quirks.**

 _Marcus: "Sport? Uh… Well, I guess it'd have to be boxing, 100%. Ain't that right buddy?"_

 _Oliver: "...yes, don't remind me. Oh, and for your information, you are the one that enjoys beating the crap out of each other nine times outta ten."_

 _Marcus: "Pfft, yeah right, you're the one always insisting on increasing our monthly sparring matches-"_

 _Oliver: "I want you to decrease them, not increase them you bird brain!"_

 _Marcus: "Sure Ol, we all know you love fighting. What's the next question?"_

 _Oliver grunts._

 **Who is stronger between the two of you?**

 _Marcus & Oliver: "Me. Hey!"_

 _ **They start fighting like idiots until the interviewer steps in to ask the next question.**_

 **What is your impression on your class? What students do you have your eye on? What student would you least want to fight?**

 _Marcus: "They're mostly okay in my book, I guess? I haven't paid much attention to most of them. Being honest though? I don't like Seismo's kid."_ _ **Marcus suddenly speaks in a much darker tone, with a stone-cold deadpan,**_ " _She sucks."_

 _Oliver: "Disregard him, he's got a knack for irredeemable douchebags. Our class is pretty average, with the exception perhaps of our top four—get off me you insufferable oath!"_

 _ **Marcus interrupts him by playfully trying to strangle him with his hood**_

 _Oliver: "Anyways, the only person I'd like to fight is that steam brat. My arm was stiff as a stick for 2 days, so I'm looking forward to returning the favour."_

 **How many upperclassmen do you believe you can beat? (How bout that?)**

 _Marcus: "Upperclassmen? Well, I can't really answer that until I've fought them, duh. Do you know any of our seniors, Ol?"_

 _Oliver: "Don't know, don't care."_

 _ **Oliver shrugs while slumping down on his seat.**_

 **Who's your favourite hero?**

 _Marcus: "Definitely Alchemist. Nothing's more badass than dismantling entire traffic jams against unsuspecting villains!"_

 _Oliver: "I don't idolize heroes. Almost every hero is either creepy, a social recluse or total freak. Only hero I've ever 'tolerated' is Seismos."_

 _Marcus: "Heh, speak of a sour grape."_

 **You two seem close, how long have you known each other and how would you describe your relationship?**

 _Marcus: "Well, we've been friends since middle school. I used to fight a lot with my classmates and most often won, so no one wanted to fight me anymore. Then this bitter troublemaker transferred in and immediately wanted to pick a fight. It goes without saying, he didn't enjoy that day as much as I d—Ooughf,"_

 _ **Oliver got tired of his partner's anthics, stretching his arm into the air and letting it drop like an anchor on his head.**_

 _Oliver: "I think you've run your mouth enough for now. Can we get this over with?"_

 **Did girls in middle school think you were "together"?**

 _Both: "Huh?"_

 **To Oliver: How did you even pass?**

 _Oliver: "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?,"_

 _ **Oliver grunts, a bulging vein making its way towards his forehead.**_

" _I just did the theory test, and then the practical like everyone else. If your actual question is what did they make me do in the practical, then too bad, I'm not in the mood to tell you."_

 **Did you dye your hair or is that natural?**

 _Marcus: "My hair started turning gray when I was still a wee lad, but according to my mom I was born with auburn hair."_

 _Oliver: "My hair has always been like that. What a weird question."_

 **Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?**

 _Both: "..."_

 **Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?**

 _Marcus: "I've always been a sucker for cars, although I'm actually more interested in the engines that propel them. I've actually got a motorized bike, but the prefects haven't let me take it out of the school workshop since I brought it here."_

 _Oliver (yawning): "...I just play chess,"_

 _ **Oliver starts to fall asleep.**_

 _Marcus: "...And sleep, like the lazy bastard you are."_

 _Oliver: "Suhre…."_

 _ **Oliver slumps into his chair instantly, almost comparable to a dead man's corpse.**_

 **To Marcus: Is there a limit to the amount of power you can absorb?**

 _Marcus: "Well, not that I've ever encountered. I tend to absorb attacks in their entirety, but if I feel like my body's getting too hot, I repel part of it to a random direction to loosen up the impact. You could compare it to a manually operated emergency valve, if you wish."_

 **To Marcus: think you can build your own support items?**

 _Marcus: "I tend to design and describe in detail what I need, but I don't actually make the gear. You could call me the blueprint maker, heh. Engineering the stuff is just not my forte._

 **Do you have any embarrassing pictures/videos/stories of each other?**

 _Marcus: "Well now that you mention it, there was this one time where Oliver and I were eating at a Friday's. Oliver ordered this really, really big steak, all covered in spices and the likes. Immediately you could tell he was having trouble eating it, so I challenged him to see who could finish their dish first and he took the bait. He spent a whole 50 minutes in the restaurant bathroom, I practically had to drag him out of the damn place. Best laugh I had in years!"_

 _ **Oliver jerks his head up and changes positions in the seat, while snoring.**_

 **Have you guys ever jump a gorge duke boys style?**

 _Marcus: "Don't know what that means, but it sure as hell sounds cool."_


	33. Chapter 32: Memorized

Wandering around the festival going on outside the stadium – no one said she'd have to stay inside until her fight – the knot in Kira's stomach continued to tighten. It had originally made its presence known that morning when she'd woken up and had gotten worse and worse as she robotically went through her morning routine and followed the rest of her class as they were led to the preparation room. Just after Marcus and Eris' fight, she couldn't stand the palpable tension in the room and decided to make her escape, providing Andrew and the FH1 homeroom teacher, Mr. Forrester, with a flimsy excuse. From there she made a beeline to the massive crowd amassed around the food and game booths set up around the stadium. Once she was just another face among the masses, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief, large crowds generally had that effect on her. ' _Jeez, this whole festival is so much bigger than what they show on T.V. Kinda sad this is the only time I've been able to come. Okay, I should have a while until my match so I can probably grab some grub and relax before Andrew has an aneurysm.'_ Without really paying attention, she walked up to the first nice smelling stall and stood at the back of the line. As she waited, she listened to the conversations of the citizens around her. Most of them, perhaps predictably, were focused on the ongoing tournament. "Man, did you see that Neuro kid from JH2, the psychic powers dude? He's got some mad potential."

"It seems these kids get better and better every year. I mean, look at the freshmen. That first match was a doozy. Despite being at a disadvantage, that Elisnore girl held her own and then some against two combatants." At the mention of Clara, Kira frowned. She couldn't deny that she wasn't impressed by her classmate's performance – if it were her, she'd have most likely tripped and given Lyle the easy win – but it had also made her uneasy. Ever since the beginning of school Clara had been one of the strongest in their class, the only one able to keep up physically with Narruk or tactically with Lyle and Lyon.

Meanwhile, she'd spent the year trying her best not to trip and screw up at every turn, which she'd failed completely at so far. From tripping and giving away her position to Marcus in the labyrinth, to nearly falling into a pit during her match against Lyle, then less than a week later burning down the kitchen in the Girl's Dormitory, she'd caused more damage to herself and school property than anything else. She couldn't even count how many times Andrew had saved her from the embarrassment of falling on her face during their training in the past week. Yet, through every challenge they faced she constantly got one-upped by Clara, or sometimes even Melody, Rylee, or Eris. ' _Get it together Kira,'_ she thought as the group in front of her cleared out, leaving her at the front of the line. Perhaps she should have seen it coming, but the moment she took a step forward her foot caught on a bump in the asphalt and her entire body pitched forward. As she prepared herself to faceplant in front of hundreds of strangers, a strong, vice-like grip latched onto her arm and yanked her back to her feet. "Oh! Thanks!"

"You have a habit of falling on your face, I take it?" A very snarky voice chuckled. Kira's cheeks burned and she whipped around to tell off her savior, only for her words to turn into incoherent stuttering. "Seems you have a problem with speaking clearly as well. Probably a good thing I stopped you from slamming your head on the ground. That might've made it worse."

"Oh, uh sorry. Thanks for that, I guess," Kira said graciously, though the boy's comments were starting to grind on her nerves. She really didn't need some random hot guy insulting her like everyone else, by which she mostly meant Clara. ' _Wait, hot? Where the hell did that come from?'_ She thought, shaking her head vigorously. ' _Come on Kira, this guy's probably an asshole, don't start getting starry-eyed just because he's… fairly attractive...'_ She glanced up into the boy's startlingly yellow eyes and realized she'd just been standing there looking at the ground long enough to make things awkward. She muttered an apology and turned to face the food stall, whose attendant she recognized. "Shaula? What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Kazani. Yeah… I got knocked out of the tournament pretty early. Dominick never has been the best at holding back. I'm not too worried though, I'd rather be out here and around this atmosphere than in a stadium full of jeering people," the pinkette said with a casual wave of her hand.

"Jeering?" Kira frowned. She could understand someone unpleasant like Clara being booed but Shaula was nothing short of the kindest person in their dorm. To all her underclassmen, she was like a big sister and always gave great advice in any problems they could be suffering. "Why would they be jeering _you_ of all people?"

"Well…" The girl trailed off and motioned towards the gently swaying scorpion-like tail protruding from beneath her black and green plaid skirt. Shaula gave Kira a weak smile before shaking her head and waving her hand. "Anyway, that's not important. You've got a match coming up right? Against that Lyon boy and Andi? How are you feeling about that?"

"Ugh, I just really want all this prelude to end and to just hop in the arena, to get it over with already. The anticipation is killing me."

"That's understandable. I wouldn't worry so much though. I have no doubt you're gonna kick some serious ass!" Shaula cheered jovially. Despite her own doubts hovering above her like a storm cloud, Kira couldn't help but indulge herself in the girl's optimism, even if it was just for a brief moment. An angry comment from someone further down the growing line behind her forced Kira to cut their conversation short and order a simple turkey and cheese sandwich before forcing her way through the crowd to a dining area. She sat down at an empty table and looked balefully up at the wall-mounted television screen that showed Oliver and his odd teammate stepping onto the battlefield. ' _Still, have two battles until mine. Plenty of time to eat and find a way to distract myself.'_ Reluctantly, the girl sighed and took a bite out of her sandwich, though it tasted more like ash than turkey. As she watched the fight get underway, she noticed someone slid onto the picnic bench beside her. A quick sideways glance revealed it to be the yellow-eyed boy from earlier, who had seemingly skipped the bread and just gotten a plate stacked high with slices of turkey.

"So, you're a student here, ain't that right?" He asked, gesturing vaguely at the festival going on around them, to which Kira just nodded in reply. The boy grinned wolfishly and followed her gaze to the television screen. His smile wavered slightly and he shrugged. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with that scorpion girl and–"

"Her name is Shaula." Her slightly defensive response made the boy pause and stay silent for a moment before he nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see. You don't gotta worry about me goin' after Mutant-Type Quirks. Be slightly hypocritical, afterall," he said and motioned to his mouth. Kira turned to face him, bemused, until she noticed his inhumanly elongated and sharp-looking canines. "See? Nothing to worry about on that front. Now, where are my manners? Name's Victor Alderson. You can just call me Vic."

"Kira Kazani. What brings you to the festival, Victor? I haven't seen you around campus at all. Are you here to just like, enjoy the fights?" Kira inquired, feeling slightly embarrassed about her outburst. Victor thought on this for a moment before shrugging.

"Eh, more or less. I just recently came over here and decided to check the whole festival thing out."

"Came over here?" Victor opened his mouth to speak, closed it and appeared to think for a moment as if he were deciding what he should say. ' _He's got some secrets then? I wonder if he's here for something more than just seeing the festival?'_ Finally having come to a conclusion, Victor shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm originally from this small town in Germany but… certain events caused me to have to relocate. Someone from my town lost control of their Quirk, killed a few people, threw the whole place into chaos, all that jazz. I decided it was time to get the hell outta there. Went to London at first and then decided to come here," the boy explained, his expression darkening as he described the events. Kira winced and felt a surge of guilt for having brought up the subject, something she tried to apologize for, only to be waved off by Victor. "Don't worry about. It's been about a year or so since then, so no harm no foul. Besides, America is the land of opportunity. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about yourself, I'm curious to find out what the life of a Hero in training is like."

"Really? There isn't much to tell to be honest. It's just like regular school but like, way more violent and difficult."

"Sounds like my kind of fun. Come on, humor me. Going to one of the best schools in the world has to have some kinda perks," Victor pressed as he downed his third slice of turkey which, like the last two, he only chewed briefly before swallowing. The sight was slightly… gross to Kira but she attributed as a side effect of his Quirk. After her outburst earlier, reprimanding him on his table manners would be a bit hypocritical, besides she'd seen Narruk and Diana eat steaks, hamburgers, and just about everything else in one or two bites so it wasn't anything new.

"Well, we have all the classes a regular school would have. History, math, literature, stuff like that. On top of that, we have specialty classes and practical or theory lessons on Hero stuff and combat. Just recently we had a two-hour lecture from our Hero Etiquette teacher about the importance of speech writing and talking to the media. Then last week we had combat training while our psychotic teacher threw shurikens, knives, and other sharp pointy objects at us." That had been a particularly bad class for her. Combat training under Ms. Honoka was torture at the best of times but throw in a few dozen impaling weapons whizzing past your head as you're trying to master the new grapple she'd shown you once and expected you to master was a completely higher tier of hell in Kira's eyes. Of course, her tripping over herself and Eris every few seconds hadn't helped at all.

"Sorry, she was throwing them at you? Your teacher?" Victor interrupted with a chuckle. He ran a hand through his short, spiky brown hair before shaking his head. ' _He's really cute when he smiles…_ _Wait, what the hell? Why am I thinking about that?'_ Kira shook his head to dissipate that troubling thought, something that Victor fortunately didn't see.

"Uh, well… we also are generally held to a higher standard than most other schools. A failing grade here is like, a seventy-five or something. They're super strict with curfew and students leaving the premises too. Melody had to wait three hours in Administrations to get the okay to visit her old man, who lives like two blocks away because there was a minor Villain attack six miles from here."

"Seriously? That's a little extreme."

"You're telling me. Not to mention they've got really harsh punishments when it comes to breaking school rules but our teacher is usually pretty chill with us. If anyone breaks a rule, usually Eris sneaking out or Clara screaming in the dead of night, then the whole class is punished with a huge increase to our training schedule. Mr. Holl calls it 'killing two birds with one stone' since he gets to punish us _and_ slack off his usual teaching duties."

"Sounds like an interesting guy. From what I heard growing up, the Hero school in Geneva expels around thirty percent of their students for the most minor offenses. I suppose you can't really have students who are aiming to be Heroes go around breaking rules but it still irks me," Victor said in disgust. Kira stared at him for a moment in bemusement before turning her attention back to the screen, where Oliver was running through a collapsed portion of the building.

"I don't think I've ever seen him move that fast," Kira commented dryly, eliciting a snort out of her companion.

"Hmm? He's the type to laze about all day, I'm guessing?" At her nod, Victor's expression turned nostalgic and he smiled lightly, the expression causing Kira's cheeks to heat up – though thankfully for her dignity he seemed too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice. "I have a friend like that. A boy by the name of Alphonse. Never the type to get off his ass but he had a silver tongue and could make all the younger kids do his bidding seemingly at will. Tell me about your classmates. They must be extraordinarily talented to get into such a prestigious school."

"Well, they are an odd bunch. I can't say I actually know many of them well, mostly just the girls and a few of the guys. My two best friends have to be Melody and Andi. Melody is so righteous and Andi is the sweetest thing, they're absolutely amazing friends and they'll make great Heroes someday. Let's see, Diana is kinda the mom around us freshman. Eris is pretty flighty and likes to be the center of attention while her brother is the exact opposite, though I don't really know him that well. Narruk and Lyon are so overpoweringly strong it's hard to stand at times. Andrew and Marcus are strong too but they just don't have the commanding presence that those two do. Um, Hazel is nice if a bit pretentious at times, Lyle is kind of a dick but he can be cool, Sirius and Epiphany are an odd pair to be sure, Oliver and Rylee have this one-sided rivalry going on that's fun to watch, and then… there's Clara." Victor, surprisingly having followed her entire spiel, raised an eyebrow as her voice trailed off.

"I take it this Clara girl is a bit of a bitch?" Kira laughed heartily at that and nearly toppled backward off the bench, only to be steadied by Victor, once again.

"Thanks and yeah, you basically hit it right on the head. She puts the 'ass' in Class FH2. Always yelling, starting fights, putting others down. It's kinda hard to deal with at times. She's always ragging on me for being clumsy and losing every fight to her. She's insanely strong too, which is sad. If she just wasn't such a jerk she could be a top Hero one day like her dad."

"Her dad?" Victor asked. Kira cursed herself for her slip up and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, we're not really supposed to reveal information like that. If news got out that her dad had a daughter, his enemies could go after her. And believe me, he has a lot of them. 'Your identity is your very life, protect it' our Hero Etiquette teacher likes to say. I… Oh shit."

"What's wrong?"

"I've probably told you so much stuff I'm not supposed to. Damnit, Kira!" She groaned at the realization and slammed her head into the splintering wood of the picnic table. While she called herself every insult she could think of, Victor placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it. Just a simple slip up, besides I've got no one to tell. We all need to vent every once and awhile." Kira sighed and raised her head, though the crash had not helped her headache.

"Sorry, I've just been dealing with so much shit recently and now here I am, venting sensitive information to a complete stranger I just met like five minutes ago! I'm sorry," the girl said miserably. Victor shook his head and gave her his bottle of water – she'd forgotten to get herself something to drink. She gulped down half of it before handing it back and sighed, resting her chin on her open palm.

"We all have shit to deal with. No reason to sit here and cry about it," Victor said bluntly. For some strange reason, this actually made Kira feel a bit better. As she made an effort to finish her sandwich, she noticed her companion reach into his pocket and pull out a small scrap of paper and a pen.

"What's that for?"

"Well, considering you have a fight coming up that I doubt you'd wanna be late to and the fact that I was quite enjoying our talk, I figured we could do it again sometime. Whenever you aren't busy being a wannabe Hero, that is," he replied, folding the piece of paper and handing it to her before swinging one of his legs over the backside of the bench and standing. Kira quickly followed his lead, shooting to her feet and turning as he started walking away. "Thank you for the talk, Kira Kazani."

"Uh, yeah. Bye?" She said lamely. Just before he disappeared into the crowd, Victor rose a hand and waved at her. For a moment, she simply stood in silence before the roar of the crowd in the arena caught her attention. It appeared she'd completely missed the ending of Oliver and Rylee's fight as four students completely unknown to her had taken the field (which appeared to be some sort of marshland). ' _I better get back before Andrew_ _blows a gasket_ _,'_ she thought, though her eyes were glued to the folded up piece of paper. Without any hesitation, she scooped it up and started jogging back towards the preparation room.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

' _This is going nowhere fast,'_ Zachary Cross thought bitterly as he dodged yet another tail strike from his classmate, the strike sending up a splash of murky brown water. Meanwhile, Ryūken just grinned and leaped back a few paces, his dark gray eyes shining with excitement. If he had to guess, Zach would pin his opponent's enthusiasm on the fact that he rarely fought on an even playing surface due to his Quirk. From what he observed, Ryūken had a bit of an issue moving about on solid surfaces and picking up items when he wasn't wearing shoes or gloves. Being in a swamp, however, played heavily to his advantage as he could move about more freely. "Come on Zach, at least try to hit me back."

 **Ryūken Togake**

 **Quirk: Salamander**

 **With his Quirk, Ryūken can basically do whatever a Salamander can, including the ability to climb walls and fight underwater. However, due to the sticky pads on his toes and fingers, he tends to stick to most surfaces.**

"Why, you Annoying lizard," he muttered to himself. Ryūken's next attack came swiftly, helped by the knee-deep water surrounding them, but this time, Zach grabbed the appendage and pulled as hard as he could, twisting his body with the momentum to throw the lizardman, who landed with a large splash. As soon as he let go of his opponent's tail, however, Zach had an overwhelming urge to scratch his hands. ' _Damnit, I forgot about his toxin. Gotta be careful with that going forward.'_ While Ryūken recovered, Zach glanced over to where his teammate was attempting to fend off the taller, more muscular Nikki. Thankfully it appeared as if Nikki was facing the same terrain disadvantage as they were as she struggled to keep her tai chi slippers from becoming caught in the quagmire. Vivianne, on the other hand, seemed to be handling herself alright. She'd produced a small slingshot and was repeatedly pegging her opponent with anything from pebbles to marbles to buttons and a myriad of other small items pulled from the confines of her hair.

 **Vivianne Ochoa**

 **Quirk: Pocket Dimension**

 **Vivianne can store objects in her hair, which acts as a near-limitless storage unit. However, the size of the items she can store is limited to her hair length and the weight of her hair increases as more items are stored.**

"You doing alright, Vivi?" Zach called as he trudged his way towards her, deciding they stood a better chance at facing Ryūken and Nikki together. The purple-haired girl gave him a quick look before reaching into her shoulder-length hair and retrieved another small object, which looked to be a screw-on cap to a water bottle, before loading it into her slingshot, drawing back, and firing at Nikki. While the projectile didn't particularly hurt her, she did end up stumbling slightly.

"Yeah. The swamp was waterlogging my hair so I had to reign it in a bit. All my snacks are gonna be soggy," the girl lamented sadly. Zach was about to reply but at the last possible moment, he caught movement in his peripheral vision and grabbed his partner by the shoulder, dragging both of them backward just barely out of the way of Ryūken's tail. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on his foot catching on a submerged tree root, which sent the pair of them tumbling into the lukewarm water. The few seconds it took to pull himself back to his feet gave Nikki a chance to free herself from the suction-like hold of the swamp floor mud and regroup with Ryūken.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. How are we going to win this? Ryūken is too fast in the water," Vivianne said, pulling herself from the water. Zach frowned and glanced from his opponents to his teammate. While Nikki and her Quirk were fairly impractical in a battle like this, Ryūken was built for naval combat. Vivianne was a living breathing utility belt but her combat skills left much to be desired. "Zach?"

"Sorry. I've got a plan... or at least the beginnings of one. Our biggest issue continues to be Ryūken with his maneuverability. So here's what I'm thinking…"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"What're they saying, Nik?" Ryūken inquired as he stared down his opponents. Ever since his last sneak attack had failed, the battle was seemingly at a standoff as each team tried to develop a strategy on the fly. Or at least, that was what their opponents were doing. From the moment the stage had been chosen, Ryūken knew that he would be the linchpin to this battle. His ability to move easily through a terrain the other three struggled with, and his overall combat skills, while not truly remarkable, being augmented played tremendously to his advantage. ' _Thank god they've got the crowd muted or Nikki'd be completely overwhelmed. So far our biggest issue is Zach, Vivianne is at least on an even playing field with Nikki. Just gotta take him out and boom! We're moving on to the next round!'_ Ryūken thought giddily.

"You know I can't actually pick out words right?" Nikki, her eyes shut tight, replied quietly. If there was one thing about his teammate that he didn't particularly like it was her introversion. It had taken him quite a while to get her to even tell him about herself. ' _Actually, now that I think about it… Vivianne is pretty solitary most of the time and Zach only really hangs out with Payton and Nathan because they force him to. Jeez, 'the battle of the socially awkward' over here.'_

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure. Alright, let's go!"

"Wait, Ryūken!" Nikki cried as the lizardman took off, moving through the water at an inhuman pace straight towards his opponents. The moment he got close, Zach and Vivianne split apart from their huddle and turned to face him. ' _Now they decide to go head-on, eh? That's fine. My toxin should still be affecting Zach's hands and Vivianne lost her slingshot in the water when he tackled her. Easy game.'_ Once he got close, Ryūken leaped out of the water and kicked off the trunk of his tree, bringing his tail down in a diagonal swipe, which Zach easily dodged by backpedaling while his partner was out of range to begin with. The black-haired boy sneered and brought his foot out of the water in a sluggish attempt to kick the reptilian, who easily dodged the waterlogged attack. Ryūken quickly followed up by trying to throw a punch but again his attack was evaded nimbly by his opponent. He was so confident that Zach was only capable of being on the defensive due to the terrain that it was a shock to feel the boy's fist connect with his ribcage. "Ryūken!"

"I'm fine!" The boy replied though that wasn't quite the truth. Despite his thin frame and sickly demeanor, Zach's punch hit him like a freight train. ' _Jeez, he hits like a beast. Okay, gotta be more careful with that,'_ Ryūken realized as he ducked beneath the next blow and landed a kick of his own to his foe's chest. Zach stumbled slightly but didn't give enough of an opening for Ryūken to attack again. Instead, he absorbed the attack and latched onto the boy's ankle. With a battle cry, the black-haired boy knocked the reptilian's outstretched leg to the side and, with speed mirroring Ryūken's own, darted in to hug the boy around his waist. The next thing the lizardman knew, he was being lifted into the air. He barely had time to curse in surprise before his head submerged in the murky black water and slammed into the muddy bottom hard enough to make him see stars.

"Ryūken!" Nikki shouted as she watched her teammate get suplexed into the swamp and promptly tied up by Vivianne.

" _That's it! Ryūmander has been eliminated! Wahoo, this is great! So glad Holl had to take that call, it's so much more fun being the actual announcer than just 'color commentary'. Alright! Can we see another one versus two victory or will Panda Bat be overwhelmed?"_ Oddball cheered, his overly enthusiastic voice making the water of the swamp ripple. All at once, a light popped on in Nikki's head and she let out a shaky breath. Her play was obvious and, as Zach charged toward her at a speed she couldn't hope to match, she let her eyes slide closed. To the boy's complete shock, the brown-eyed girl somehow managed to duck beneath his punch at the last moment and then immediately step out of the way of his follow up grapple.

"Zach! You have to get her eyes open!"

 **Dominique 'Nikki' Wufu**

 **Quirk: Blind Vibration**

 **As long as her eyes are completely closed, Nikki can pick up on even the slightest vibration and perceive it as sight. However, she can be overwhelmed by too many vibrations at once.**

Zach nodded solemnly and continued his assault. Each punch he threw was dodged, every grapple he attempted his opponent managed to squirm away from, but through it all, he never let up. The few blows he did land were glancing at best but they were exactly what he needed. After about a minute of continuous attacks, he stopped and took a step away from his opponent. Nikki paused, her brow furrowing in confusion as he took a deep breath. There was a moment of uneasy stillness before he charged. Nikki saw his fist wind back at the same time he moved his foot, signaling a feint and prepared to dodge. However, almost as if he'd read her move perfectly, Zach lashed out with his foot and caught her in the side of her knee. The purple-haired girl grunted in pain as her leg gave out and she fell into a kneeling position. ' _Crap, I forgot about his Quirk,'_ she thought mournfully as Zach dodged her blind jab and grabbed her outstretched arm. In an instant, he was behind her and holding her arm in a painfully awkward position as Vivianne trudged over with the capture string in her hands.

 **Zachary Cross**

 **Quirk: Muscle Memory**

 **Zach can memorize and imitate any movement or action he observes. If he physically does not have the ability to pull off a memorized action, then his Quirk will augment him to the point he can at the cost of his stamina.**

" _In a flash, it's over! Whoa-ho, what a show from Echo there. So he and Catch-All will be moving on to the next round where they'll face off against Erebus and Rubberband! Now a quick intermission while we await our next battle between the team of Inferno and Megahertz versus Vulcana and Beacon! I can't wait! Let's see some blood!"_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You ready Kira?" Andrew asked as he and his partner entered the tunnel to await their fight. Kira gulped and nodded hesitantly. ' _Why'd we have to get put up against them? Ugh, at least Andrew's plan is fairly sound. Knowing Lyon though… I have a bad feeling about this.'_

"As I'll ever be"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Hey all, sorry about the delay (seems like I'm saying that a lot these days) but I've been adjusting to my new job and sleep schedule (which is even more of a mess than usual) so I hope you can forgive me. Anyway, Kira met a new friend who is going to be very interesting to write in the future but will show up sporadically for the next couple of arcs. The first part of this chapter was to mostly dive into Kira's mindset and doubts. Also, this was our first all FH1 battle so I wanted it to be quick simply because we don't really know these characters well enough to be as invested in characters we've known this whole story. I hope I did these characters justice and let's look forward to the clash of the titans in the next chapter. Andrew (and Kira) vs. Lyon (and Andi). The top two FH2 students.**

 **Another quick note: One of the people on the Discord, ThalioTP (who you may remember as having actually written chapters 23-25) has started a DnD fic on here based on PoaH. You guys should really check it out, he's a very talented writer and the story looks incredibly promising just one chapter in.**

 **Thanks, as always, to Hiatus for Beta-ing. Join the Discord server, it's pretty fun and we've got a very engaged community. Finally, Have a good week nerds**

 **EDIT: Forgot the damned Q &A. Here you go, an interview with Kira.**

 **Q: What was your worst fall?**

 _Worst fall… is something I'd rather not talk about. After that, it's when I fell out of my bedroom window and landed on my head. I was fine, but my mom passed out from shock and worry._

 **Q: Have you ever stood on an office chair, and if yes how are you still alive?**

 _Yes, I've tried lots of times, and I've always fallen off. I can try again now if you want?_

*Leaves, tries it, falls off chair and giggles*

 _And I'm fine, I've got used to falling over all the time._

 **Q: Who is best boy?**

 _Andrew- he's my teammate for the tournament, and he catches me when I fall._

 **Q: If there was an apocalypse, which 3 classmates would be on your team?**

 _Andi- she'd be able to radio for backup, plus she's one of my best friends. Narruk- Most physical strength plus good senses to help us stay safe. Lyon would be third, but I have fire powers too, so we wouldn't both be needed. Third… probably Sirius? Because having an extra person in Epiphany would be really helpful._

 **Q: Have you ever kicked yourself in the groin?**

 _I've kicked myself in the shoulder blade, the groin is no problems. Wanna see me do it?_

*Falls down stairs while attempting it*

 **Q: Who is best girl?**

 _Me. But seriously, Hazel. She's so smol and cute and her cheeks are so pinchable. She's like my little sister._

 **Q: Any skills you want to learn other than heroics?**

 _Balance. Also how to ice skate/ski/snowboard_

 **Q: Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?**

 _People devoted to worshipping me? Why not!?_

 **Q: Do you dye your hair or is it natural?**

 _Hair is natural, but I wear black contact lenses. My eyes are red, and I wear the lenses because they glow when I use my quirk and that's not a good look for a hero_ **.**

 **Q: Who's your favorite hero?**

 _In the world, Shoto from U.A. In America, I'd say Oddball._

 **Q: Favourite sport?**

 _Swimming. I'm actually good at it because I can't fall over when I'm in the water. Also, it stopped accidental quirk usage when I was younger being as damaging because the water took away some of the heat._

 **Q: What is your favourite song?**

 _'High Hopes' by Panic! at the Disco. It's upbeat and optimistic, and that's how I want people to feel._

 **Q: If you could have any other quirk in your class, whose would you have?**

 _Andrew's. It's really strong, and I could keep myself on my feet when I trip_ **.**

 _Can I leave now? I wanna see if I can beat my record time for staying on the office chair. 5.3 seconds, here I come!_

 _Baiiii!_

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 33: Clash**


	34. Chapter 33: Clash

**June 23, 2317**

"Good luck, Melody!" Kira said with an unenthusiastic wave, though she could tell the redhead hadn't really heard her. As they'd talked about their lives, Pro Heroes, their previous schools – anything to keep their minds off of the task at hand – she'd seen her new friend struggle to keep her nerves contained. ' _Like I'm much better. I'm freaking trembling,'_ she thought, glaring at her raised arm, which was indeed shaking ever so slightly. In an attempt to quash the reaction, Kira brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. ' _This entire day has been a complete wash. I can't believe how easily that written test managed to stump me or how many times I tripped during the physical. Damnit. I really need to get it together if I want any sort of chance at making it in. I've just gotta really kill the Quirk Exam, show them how hard I've been training and_ –' The sound of the intercom crackling to life cut her thoughts short and sent a chill down her spine.

" _Attention! Kira Kazani to exam room eight and Marion Kitchener to exam room ten. Kazani to five and Kitchener to six, thank you."_ A weight settled in the pit of Kira's stomach as she slowly got to her feet. She gulped and began the short walk to the large, gray exam building. It took her awhile to find the door marked with an '8', which gave her plenty of time to try and gather her wits. Unfortunately, once she found and opened the door, her entrance into the large gymnasium was not exactly inspiring. As she went to take her first step inside, her foot got caught on the frame of the door and she fell flat on her face. Her face was completely red with shame as she stood and walked into the center of the room. Once there, the speakers inside the room came to life. The voice that emanated out of them was feminine and marred by a heavy southern drawl.

" _You are Kira Kazani, correct? Alrighty, let's see here… in your Quirk Assessment form, you've described yourself as a 'Close Combat Specialist'. Your Quirk allows you to create shockwaves from your body that burn incredibly hot, is that right?"_ The voice asked calmly. Kira nodded meekly and glanced around the room until she found a tinted glass window just underneath the metal ceiling.

"Yes, ma'am!" She answered, perhaps just a bit too loudly. The voice was quiet for a moment, though Kira could hear what had to be the woman flipping through papers. ' _Did she forget to turn the mic off?'_

" _Ah, here we are. Says here that your father is a U.S.A.E.I. alumni. Has he been overseeing your training so far?"_

"Yes. My father's name is Ranburu Kazani," Kira said proudly. Her father had been the reason why she even considered attempting to get into the Forge. ' _Dad was almost as excited as I was when I got my letter. I swear, he almost cried when I got_ _onto_ _the plane. I can't let him down now,'_ she thought grimly. The voice hummed in surprise, the sound of papers shuffling echoed over the microphone.

" _The Burning Hero: Ignitor. Currently ranked fifty-second on the N.A.H.P.I. and serving as the head of the Boston Garrison. As I understand it, your mother is also the Boston chief of police. How would you say that your parent's jobs have impacted your life?"_

"Well, we're a pretty close family. My mom and dad aren't always home but I don't really mind. They're out there making the city a better place, and it makes the time we do get to spend together more special. I wouldn't have it any other way," Kira said, though there was a pit forming in her stomach as she worried just how deep the woman's files went into her past.

" _Wonderful. It seems like everything else is in order. We will begin your Quirk Exam in just a moment_ _,_ _but before that, I have one more question. Why do you want to be a Hero?"_ The question stunned Kira into silence. She frowned, an image of a burning house flashed through her mind. She sighed, remembering that day, the look on her mother's face when she saw what had happened… and the nightmares she suffered for months after it.

"There's so much wrong with this world. The villains, the corruption, and now with All-Might gone, people need more real Heroes like him to step up. That's my goal… to be a Hero that people can look up to and depend on, even when everything seems hopeless."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Are you okay, Kazani?" Kira flinched at the sound of her teammate's voice. They'd been standing in silence for five minutes, waiting for the match to begin. Any moment now and Oddball would introduce them and the fight will begin. To say that she was nervous would be a massive understatement because, in reality, she'd never been this psyched out in her life. Unlike the couple hundred times she'd made a fool of herself during both her training and her lessons at the Forge, she wouldn't have Melody's every cheery helping hand, nor Andi's enthusiastic reassurances, to help her in battle this time. She'd even face Clara's ridicule and contempt rather than looking like an incompetent ass in front of the whole country. All she had right now was her overly serious partner, Andrew Abrams. During their first two months at school, she hadn't really paid the boy much attention. She only really knew that he was a fairly easy-going dude that hung around Narruk and Lyle. Over the past week, however… she'd seen just how serious and competitive he could be.

"M'fine. Are you one hundred percent certain this is the best play? I'm almost entirely fireproof y'know. It'd be better for me to help you take out Lyon," she said, though her partner just shook his head.

"No, we have to keep them separate and, it's a better matchup for us if you go after Andi. Besides, I know how to take him out."

"Can't say I'm looking forward to throwing up my breakfast but fine. Just make sure you don't give him an opening. Lyon may be weird but–"

"Don't worry, Kazani. I can take him." She was about to rebuke this but was cut off as the fanatical voice of Oddball filled the arena. ' _I wonder what happened to Mr. Holl. It seems kinda weird that he'd be gone so long.'_

" _ALRIGHTY, FOLKS! HERE WE GO, THE BIGGEST FIGHT OF THE DAY_ _!_ _Our first team, both from Freshman Hero Course Two_ – _are Vulcana and Beacon_ _;_ _Beacon currently holds the second overall position in his class and the fourth overall position in the entire freshman class, and Vulcana is ranked fifteenth in her own class and thirtieth overall. And their competitors are Inferno and Megahertz_ _;_ _While Beacon may be strong, Inferno is_ _one of only_ _three students to ever achieve a perfect score on the Forge's entrance exam. Megahertz is nothing to scoff at either_ _-_ _ranked tenth in her class and twentieth overall_ _;_ _she's a real fighter! Let's see some bloodshed! Whittaker, get this thing started!"_ Oddball bellowed into his microphone. Down on the field below, Elvira Whittaker nodded and raised one of her hands emphatically above her head. The floor of the arena split down the middle and retracted. At the sight of the stage of their battle, Kira blinked several times before groaning.

"Seriously? A junkyard?" She bemoaned as towers of foul-smelling trash finally settled into place. Her partner didn't look very happy either as his nose scrunched up and he frowned. Unlike the previous battlegrounds she'd seen, their opponents weren't hidden out of view. They were standing a hundred yards away, unobstructed – Andi looking nervous but determined while Lyon simply donned his usual smile. As soon as the four combatants were situated at either end of the field, Elvira raised her arm again, smiling maniacally, before calling for them to start.

"So, as I understand it," Lyon spoke, his voice just barely audible across the field, even with the sound of the crowd almost completely muted. He took several steps forward and seemed completely oblivious to the fact that both Kira and Andrew had gotten into their defensive positions. The boy raised his right hand, the black tips of his fingers shimmering slightly in the sunlight, and pointed it in his opponent's direction. "This is a show of power, yes?"

"Get ready!" Kira cried as the sound of their opponent's snap reverberated throughout the arena. The small spark created by the action quickly grew into an inferno, reaching the size of a small house and engulfing everything in its path until it reached Andrew, who thrust both his hands out in response. From its half-submerged position within one of the many towers of trash, a full-sized school bus shot forward like a bullet and split the fire apart, the metal groaning loudly under the sudden onslaught of constantly changing gravitational pulls. Now ablaze, the bus slammed into the ground where Lyon and Andi had been standing and proceeded to dig a large trench through the dirt and rubbish until it slammed into the wall of the arena on the opposite side. Not wasting any time it might have bought them, Kira took off towards Andi, who'd dived out of the way of the bus and separated herself from her partner.

Unfortunately, it seemed like Andi had heard her coming as the smaller girl lithely leaped out of the way just before Kira's foot slammed into the ground, creating a small explosion. The antennae-eared girl managed to move her head out of the way of Kira's palm strike and slap a hand over her own ear. In the next instant, a high pitched whine filled the air, causing her opponent to stumble, her stomach performing somersaults. Satisfied with her _Sickness Frequency's_ effect, Andi stepped out of arms reach and did a quick scan of the dump for her teammate, though with the plumes of coal-black smoke rising into the air from beyond a nearby junk heap, it didn't take her too long to find him. From what she could tell, Lyon was winning the fight simply by barraging Andrew with wave after wave of flames to the point where the only thing the Gravity Quirk user could do was defend himself with whatever he could find. ' _I just gotta keep her unsteady until I find an opening. I hope Lyon's okay dealing with Andrew alone,'_ she thought grimly as her friend stood, looking pale, and charged at her.

Right as Kira pulled back her fist and Andi prepared another round of _Sickness Frequency_ , they were interrupted as a torrent of fire swept past them, carrying with it a maniacally grinning Lyon. The boy leaped into the air just as a derelict pickup truck nearly slammed into him. With a flourish, he snapped with each of his hands and a massive ball of fire streaked at the gravity controller. Once again, Andrew pulled whatever large object he could, in this case, an old billboard, and used it as a shield. "You are quite stubborn! It'll be an immense pleasure to see you burn away!"

"You okay Andrew?" Kira called out as she managed to land a quick blow to Andi's chest, knocking the girl into a rusted washing machine. Her partner glanced over at her briefly, his forehead glistening with sweat, and nodded tersely. ' _He doesn't seem tired, but even I can feel the heat from those flames. It's almost unfair how strong Lyon is. Still, Andrew can beat him if he just_ _keeps_ _his wits.'_

"Ow, that didn't feel very good," Andi grumbled to herself as she got back up. She placed a hand against her hip, which had taken the brunt of the impact, and winced. Then, she glanced over at her partner and frowned. ' _Jeez Lyon. There's no such thing as_ _restraint_ _in your vocabulary is there? Although I'm surprised he's managed to keep Andrew on the defensive for as long as he has. I have a bad feeling that this fight is just getting started.'_

" _Fiery Steps!_ " Andi's thought process immediately broke down. It was only due to her quick reflexes that she managed to turn a sure knockout into an admittedly very painful glancing blow. Kira, still airborne after her flying kick, managed to contort her body around and grab Andi by the collar of her costume. Using her own momentum, the black-eyed girl pulled and slammed her opponent into the ground, though she herself went sprawling from the awkwardness of her landing. "Damnit, thought I had you that time. You're pretty good at running away, 'Di."

"I wouldn't call it running away so much as… tactical dodging." Kira snorted and jumped to her feet, an action Andi mimicked and not a moment too soon. The second she got to her feet, a burst of white flames scorched a path over where she'd just been, leaving the stench of burning rubber and garbage in its wake. "Lyon!"

"I will apologize later. For now, focus on your fight," her partner growled back, for once his smile having dimmed as the tide of the battle began to shift. He quickly snapped his fingers again but the flames barely skimmed Andrew as he propelled himself skywards. While falling, the boy slammed his hands together and instantly Lyon was surrounded by walls of garbage that were quickly closing in. His smile now fully transformed into a sneer, Lyon crossed his arms over his chest in an 'X' and snapped. The fire blossomed around him in a series of small explosions, completely blowing Andrew's attack away. It was then that Andrew attacked once again, falling from the sky like a meteor and slamming his fist into the ground, sending a small tremor throughout the battlefield that split the earth.

Lyon grinned and held up his hand, the usually black blocky fingers on his right hand started glowing a deep red. The torrent of fire quickly consumed Andrew but – much to the pyrokinetic's surprise – a rusted refrigerator burst through the flames and crashed into him, knocking the air out of his lungs. He landed hard on his back, the appliance had hit him and kept going the opposite direction, before he immediately had to roll away to dodge Andrew's slightly more crispy gravity-enhanced heel. Before he could even raise an arm, intense pressure surrounded him. His arms were forced behind his back by something invisible, while his legs snapped together with almost enough force to break his kneecaps. Fully restrained, the orange-haired boy fell to the ground, and Andrew stood with his hands held out, a steady stream of sweat pouring down his face. "KIRA!"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Now we will begin with the actual Quirk Assessment. Are you ready, Kira?" The woman – who'd introduced herself as Elvira Whittaker – inquired, as she pressed a button on the wall. Kira's jaw fell open as the ground below her split, and a very realistic city street rose from it, complete with cars and the facades of buildings on both sides. On the other end of the street stood a ten-foot-tall hunk of metal that vaguely resembled a human – but only if one of the human's arms had been replaced by a cannon. Beyond that was a test-dummy dressed in a blue plaid dress and a crudely drawn look of terror on its face.

"What am I doing?"

"Very simple. You've got three minutes to get past Cowboy over there and save Monica. Use your Quirk and any other combat skills you've learned. Clock starts when you pass over that white line," Elvira explained. Frankly, this all seemed far too easy for Kira. ' _What's the twist? Does the robot literally just shoot? I mean, they wouldn't put live rounds in there for just a test so it's probably something like that beanbag riot suppressor thingy mom showed me.'_ Her confidence was quickly blown away as, not three seconds after she walked over the line, the robot fired. There was a deafening boom and the car in front of her went up in a miniature mushroom cloud.

"Oh fuck me entirely," Kira yelped and leaped aside as another round flew past both her and Ms. Whittaker – who didn't seem all that phased – and slammed into the opposite wall. Surprisingly, the wall looked no worse for wear, except for a few burn marks. Realizing she was still on the clock, Kira leaped onto the roof of a nearby car and began to charge using her _Fiery Steps_. If it weren't for her Quirk making her body fireproof, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd have been reduced to ashes just seconds in. Instead, the explosions only really managed to bruise and knock her off course. She hopped from hood to hood, the robot's blasts speeding up the closer she got until she was right in front of it, before crouching down with her fist glowing red. "RISING FUJI!"

Her fist uppercut the robot right in the jaw, quite literally blowing its head off. Her hand now bleeding; punching solid iron, even with a power like hers, was not exactly her smartest idea. She sped past the pile of scrap metal and grabbed the test dummy, throwing it over her shoulder in a fireman's carry. As she turned back to face the way she came, the storefront beside her exploded, showering her and 'Monica' in shards of glass and bricks. Once the smoke cleared, she glanced up and saw at least a dozen more robots lining the rooftops, all of them aiming directly at her. She wouldn't have thought that it was possible, but the run back to the starting line was even more chaotic and dangerous than the first. She was just about to start congratulating herself on a job well done when the thing she'd been dreading happened: her toe got caught on a piece of rubble. Maybe she'd have felt better if it had just been one of her regular, ill-timed trips but of course, this one had to be unique. While she had fallen flat on her face, she'd also lost her grip on 'Monica' who flew halfway across the gymnasium and crashed into the floor, landing with its limbs splayed out and its head bent at an odd angle.

"Don't worry so much about it. You did very well leading up to that and I've never seen someone take out Cowboy so fast. Buck up," Elvira told her as she picked up the nearly destroyed 'Monica' and sat it down on a chair. Kira barely heard her. She was so furious with herself and her clumsiness. It took all her willpower to not fly into a blind rage and start blasting the already destroyed city street. Elvira, it seemed, had picked up on this and sighed before telling her once again that she did a good job despite the trip and to expect the results of her exams in the mail within the week. The walk back to her hotel was uneventful, the entire time her face burned with shame, and when she got to her room she collapsed on the bed. ' _Goddamnit. How the hell can you be a Hero if you can't even walk down the street without falling on your face? How am I gonna tell dad I failed because I couldn't just watch where I was going? I can't believe I was stupid enough to try and make it into the Forge. Why the hell would they want a failure like me. Why did I ever think I could be a Hero?'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Damnit," Kira bemoaned as her opponent slid underneath her strike and tried, again, to put some distance between them, something Kira knew she'd have to put a stop to. After Andi had nearly been incinerated by her own teammate just moments before, she'd been forced back onto the defensive, though Kira wasn't entirely convinced it would stay that way. Despite her height, strength, and close combat disadvantages, the brunette had weathered the storm much better than she had expected. The smaller girl was covered in scrapes, bruises and she must have had at least one broken rib, but she still fought as if her life depended on it. Then there were the expectant glances over at her partner that she made no real effort to hide. ' _What's she waiting for? No one can break Andrew's hold… well as long as he doesn't pass out from overuse. There's something else going on.'_

As per usual – mostly because the universe seemed determined to kick her into the dirt at any opportunity – Kira's hunch ended up being right just a second too late. With her back to their respective teammates, she couldn't tell what Lyon had done to bring a smile to Andi's face but whatever it was made the girl's eyes light up. Andi hopped backward and reached a hand up to one of her antennae. "Paralytic Frequency!"

"Kira," Andrew's voice wavered slightly as he called out to her once again. She never got the chance to answer back or even look in his direction. There was a sudden and sharp whine that cut through the air and right away, Kira felt her muscles turn to jelly. She fell face-first hard onto the ground just as Andi stumbled and had to grab onto a mossy boat to steady herself.

"W-What the hell?" Kira sputtered as she tried to move her muscles, to no avail. Andi took a deep breath and righted herself before pulling out her spool of capture string. ' _I have to do this quickly and go help Lyon,'_ she thought as she inched closer to Kira. Andrew cursed under his breath as he watched, helplessly. If he did anything to help his teammate, then Lyon would surely break out of his already tenuous hold. But if he allowed her to get caught, he was failing just as badly.

"I do admire it. The way you use your Quirk. The precision it takes to be able to control gravity on this magnitude is truly special," his opponent suddenly said, his amber eyes narrowed slightly. The boy showed no signs of trying to struggle free, which greatly unnerved the gravity controller. Lyon's smile widened and Andrew felt a cold chill run up his spine. He'd been around Lyon enough to know that the boy had always had pearly white teeth, which is why the sight of his now black canines nearly made him release his hold. "However, I fear that you've still underestimated me. You've shown your 'ace in the hole' as they say, now let me show you mine."

"Shit!" Lyon contorted his jaw and, like striking a match, jerked his top and bottom canines against each other. The small spark disappeared down the boy's throat before reappearing in a blast of white fire that seared Andrew's skin and set that entire section of junkyard ablaze. Andrew coughed as he propelled himself out of the blast with one hand while using the other to send Andi tumbling back away from his teammate. Before she could catch herself, Andi was surprised when Kira shot up from the ground and slammed a fist into her chin.

"RISING FUJI!"

"SONIC BOOM!" Andi countered as she flew through the air. There was an almost deafening crack and Kira was thrown backward by the shockwave. She gasped in pain, her arm twisting awkwardly as she bounced off the ground and up through the windshield of an old train car. She slammed hard into the wall and fell, vaguely aware that she couldn't hear the wave of coughs racking her body. Both of her ears felt warm and she knew for a fact that if she were to reach up and touch them, her hands would come away bloody. She shakily got to her feet and glanced out just as Andrew was blasted through a pile of trash and crashed into the ground hard. Kira didn't have much time to worry about that, however, as she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and ducked just in time to avoid the iron pipe Andi had picked up as a weapon. The smaller girl was clearly just as spent as Kira. She had a river of blood running down the side of her face, originating from one of her antennae, and from the wince of pain every few seconds Kira could tell that her broken rib was really starting to hinder her.

"Still going, 'Di?" Kira asked though she couldn't hear her own voice, nor her opponent's reply. She once again crouched beneath a swing of Andi's impromptu weapon and kicked the girl hard in the chest. She fell to the ground and clutched at her side, barely restrained tears in her eyes, and dropped her weapon. While she felt slightly bad for most likely injuring her friend worse by targeting her already broken rib, Kira also felt tremendous relief as she finally tied the girl's ankles together – she didn't want to leave the girl helpless to stop the blood flowing from her head – and stumbled out of the train window. Almost immediately, she was engulfed in a blast of white-hot fire, though to her it felt more like walking outside on a hot summer day. Once the flames cleared she saw Lyon had once again taken the upper hand on her teammate. As Andrew struggled to stand, Lyon snapped his fingers and proceeded to swallow the spark. "Andrew, get out of the way!"

"Greater Pyroblast," the boy murmured before releasing a massive fireball onto both of his opponents. The resulting explosion shook the very foundations of the stadium, sending burning chunks of debris soaring into the air before falling to the ground like meteors. Kira, still largely unharmed by the flames, coughed and stumbled through the smoke. The inky black cloud took several long, suffocating moments before it started to rise and Kira could see the outcome. It looked as if a bomb had gone off in the middle of the stadium. Even most of the trash was gone and replaced with blackened earth and a rather sizable crater. Once she saw the figure lying in the center of the crater, her heart leapt into her throat. Andrew was very clearly unconscious and covered with very extensive burns – judging from the scraps of metal around him he'd been able to divert a majority of the blast. "I must say, I forgot you were fireproof, Vulcana. That is quite a nuisance."

"You ever heard of the term 'holding back', Lyon?" Kira asked, secretly relieved that her hearing, still slightly muddled, was returning. The boy grinned at her and held up his right hand, the fingers of which glowed like embers.

"The point of this competition is to give it our all, yes? That is simply what I have been doing. I must admit, Andrew was quite a bit more of a challenge than I had originally expected but no matter. I'm sad to say that this is the end of the road for you." What happened next seemed to shock Lyon just as much as it did Kira. As he'd done countless times that morning, Lyon snapped his fingers. Only instead of producing a spark as they usually did, the fingers on his right hand cracked and then shattered like glass. Using his surprise to her advantage, Kira took off. Her opponent recovered enough to block her first blow – a straight jab aiming for his face – but was unprepared when her foot connected with his ribcage. Nor was he prepared when her second foot exploded, sending her flipping into the air while delivering a hard heel to his shoulder. Then, using the energy from that shockwave, she twisted her body around and landed a palm strike to the back of his head. She hit the ground briefly before using her Pyroclasm to again launch herself into a backflip and smack both of her hands onto either side of Lyon's head.

As soon as she hit the ground, she was off again with another kick aimed straight for her opponent's head, though this time he managed to grab her leg and swing her around, sending her skidding across the ground. There was another snap, this time with his left hand, and the fire encircled her once again. It took Kira just a second too long to realize that Lyon knew his fire couldn't hurt her and that the attack was a feint. As soon as the flames cleared, he was there grabbing her by the throat and slamming her to the ground. With him looming over her, Kira brought her knee upwards and caught him in the stomach, giving her just enough leeway to smack her palms against the ground and propel both of them up. In mid-air, she freed herself from his grasp and managed to twist their bodies around so that he was below her. She let out a warcry and slammed both of her palms into his chest, sending him hurtling to the ground. Practically seconds later, however, Lyon was right back on his feet and intercepted her before she could touch the ground, grabbing her arm and flipping her over his shoulder. Kira tried her best to get back up but her opponent jammed his knee into her spine and roughly forced her hands behind her back, aggravating whatever injury she'd already gotten from Andi earlier and making her cry out.

" _THAT'S IT, FOLKS! VULCANA AND BEACON ARE BOTH UNABLE TO CONTINUE, THIS MATCH GOES TO MEGAHERTZ AND INFERNO!"_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Your arm won't be feeling the best for the next couple of days. You're very lucky that it's only a sprain. I hate this festival, you poor kids being forced into gladiatorial combat. It's sickening," Leena Holl growled as she finished wrapping a bandage around Kira's head. As if to prove the nurse's point, a sophomore student was brought in on a stretcher with a clearly broken leg and blood pouring down her face. "Stay here for a bit and relax. I have other patients to help at the moment."

"'Kay," Kira muttered half-heartedly. Leena gave the girl a sad look before turning and racing towards the girl with the broken leg. " _I can't believe I actually thought I could stand a chance against Lyon. He even beat Clara during training and she's a thousand times stronger than I am. And I let Andrew down. He seemed so excited about this and I screwed up any chance we had of going on to the next round. I could've been smarter in that fight. I could've–"_

"Self-pity doesn't suit you," Lyon said evenly as he swept open the curtain dividing them, making Kira jump in surprise. The boy looked about as well as Kira felt. He was covered in bruises, cuts, and bandages. She felt her eyes drifting down to his right hand, which was wrapped up in a large ball. Catching her gaze, Lyon chuckled and waved his hand through the air. "Don't worry. It was my own fault for not paying attention to my limits. Besides, they will grow back in a few days."

"Grow back?"

"Yes, I'm told they are like fingernails. They are not as sturdy as they seem but they grow back at a very fast rate. In any case, I'm glad to see you are doing well. Andrew and Andi are mostly fine, though the former is covered in second and third-degree burns that will keep him hospitalized for a few days until they can get the Pro Hero, Aloe, here from California and the latter has three broken and two cracked ribs while also having suffered damage to her right antenna from that Sonic Boom attack. All in all, I would say this has been a fairly productive day." Despite her own self-doubts and injuries, Kira couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity that was Lyon. The two talked for a few moments, mostly with Lyon complimenting her final rush and insisting that she should come up with a name for it ("All good Hero abilities should have a name, or so Mrs. Barthory says") before he left with the goal of finding something to eat that wasn't painkillers or jello.

Once he was gone, Kira sighed and reached over to the duffle bag containing all of her personal items, which had been delivered moments before by one of the school's groundskeepers, and pulled out her cellphone. As soon as she powered it on, it was barraged by nearly three dozen text messages from her family and some from her friends back in Boston. Each and every one of them was congratulating her and complimenting how strong she'd gotten. While the message from her father nearly brought tears to her eyes, there was one that caught her attention the moment she saw it. It was from the newest addition to her contact list and caused her head to spin before she smiled.

 _Well, well. Seems you aren't so clumsy_ _after all_ _, eh wannabe Hero?_

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Hey everyone. I am extremely sorry that this chapter took so long. While writing this I had the biggest strike of writer's block I've personally ever experienced so thanks for your patience. In other news, I'm sad to say that Hiatus is not going to be my main beta anymore for personal reasons on his end. He will still help out whenever I need him but he's going to be taking a step back. So, this chapter and all future chapters will be mainly Beta'd by ThalioTP (check out his D &D PoaH fic. It's really good so far and looks to be getting better). I would like to take a moment here to personally (in front of the like hundred people who read these chapters) thank Hiatus from the bottom of my heart for all he's done these past months as Beta. He's made the story not suck as bad as it could have (see everything pre chapter like 20).**

 **Anywho, what did you all think of this chapter? Our first all FH2 battle between the top two students. Hopefully, it lived up to expectations. The next chapter will be the final chapter of Round 1 of the Halloween Festival and then the real fun begins.**

 **Oh! Before I forget. We are less than three weeks away from the Purpose of a Hero's first anniversary. I'll be a lot more sappy and what not when that comes around but for now I just wanna thank you all for sticking with me through this. You all the real MVP (deadmemes=bestmemes)**

 **Finally, the teaser for the next chapter and a Q &A with our favorite firebender. **

**Next time on the Purpose of a Hero!**

 **Chapter 34: Eye of the Storm**

 **Lyon MacAllister Interview**

 **Q: Who is more evil: Clara or Lyle?**

A: Hm, a very good question. While Lyle's Quirk could be seen as 'evil' to some he has proven time and time again that he has no interest in villainy. As for Clara, her attitude is a constant worrier for our teachers however I personally see it as her own insecurities and drive to become a Hero manifesting themselves into violence and insulting her classmates.

 **Q: Have you ever made S'Mores with your Quirk?**

A: Interesting. Andi asked me that exact question on one of our first days here. She seemed quite shocked when I told her I had no idea what a S'More even was

 **Q: In a parallel world, if you were a Villain what would your Villain name be?**

A: I've always found the idea of an infinite Multiverse very interesting. I'm sure there are versions of me that are, in fact, Villains. I would very much like to meet one of them someday. As for a Villain name, I would most likely either stick with Inferno or go with something less assuming to hide the nature of my Quirk from do-gooders.

 **Q: Realistically, could you keep a small child alive for a week without direct interference?**

A: An odd question but yes I believe I could. While I may not be very knowledgeable in the field of children I have become quite adept at using the 'World Wide Web' since I started school. There are bound to be countless websites on how to deal with children.

 **Q: What is your favorite type of music?**

A: Ah yes, music. Another thing I was not very knowledgeable about before I came to U.S.A.E.I. but Andi had made a point of introducing me to the classics. At the moment I would say that my favorite type of music is 'rock' music.

 **Q: Who is your favorite Hero?**

A: Hm, a difficult question. Popular opinion would dictate that my answer be either Overgrown or Oddball since they are the two most popular Heroes. However, being the rebel that I am I will have to go with The Painting Hero: Pallet. She is a very interesting Hero, to say the least, and I've been told that she is just as eccentric as I am.

 **Q: To everyone who wants to answer, what is your Impression on your class? What student do you have your eye on? What student would you least want to fight?**

A: So far I would have to say FH2 has not ceased to surprise me. Even students such as Kira and Oliver, the bottom two, are continuously proving that they earned their placement at this school. I personally have my eye on the latter. He is quite the strategist but never actually tries his hardest. Quite odd. As for who I'd least like to fight… Well, the answer is no one. I would like to test my might against each and every one of my classmates before the year is done. For any that read this: give me your best shot.


	35. Chapter 34: Eye of the Storm

**Alright, before we get into today's chapter I just wanna say… FUCK YEAH! We made it to one year on this story. I know we've hit some bumps along the way and my upload schedule has descended into complete madness but we did something I didn't really think possible when we first started this story. It's all thanks to everyone whose reading this, whether you're reading this on the day it's released or fifty years into the future when this story is finally finished and some future person is looking at old, shitty fanfics. So before we get to the results of the Popularity Poll, I just wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the support.**

 **Official Results of the First Annual PoaH Popularity Poll (18 Total Voters)**

 **First Place: Melody Halloway - 7 Votes**

 **Second Place: Narruk Mondronen, Andi Ena - 6 Votes**

 **Third Place: Kira Kazani - 5 Votes**

 **Fourth Place: Lyon MacAllister - 4 Votes**

 **Fifth Place: Lyle Wolfbane, Carlyle Halloway, Spitfire, Oddball - 3 Votes**

 **Sixth Place: Diana Suharto, Nathan Larson - 2 Votes**

 **Seventh Place: Andrew Abrams, Clara Ramirez, Derrick Holl, Vesuvius, Prophet, Overgrown - 1 Vote**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

" _THAT'S IT, FOLKS! VULCANA AND BEACON ARE BOTH UNABLE TO CONTINUE,_ _SO_ _THIS MATCH GOES TO MEGAHERTZ AND INFERNO!"_ As Oddball's voice boomed over the television's speakers, Clara snorted and shook her head. While Kazani had overcome the magenta-haired girl's expectations, the end result was still the same. If this battle had proven anything, it was that Lyon was in a class of his own. ' _Fire Idiot. If he doesn't win this whole thing, I'd be shocked. I really hope I get to fight him in the finals,'_ she thought as the image of the orange-haired boy flashing the crowd his signature smile appeared on the screen. All around her, the buzz from the students who hadn't fought yet, or had already won their bouts was nearly deafening. However, she paid none of them any mind, focusing her acute hearing on a small group of four instead, sitting at a table just beside the mob. ' _And I hope I get to crush you along the way, crybaby.'_

"Whew, that guy does not know the meaning of restraint, does he?" Nathan asked, getting a chuckle out of Narruk.

"He's the strongest in our class, bar none. Out of any of us, Andrew stood easily the best chance. Not to mention, Andi is very strong in her own right. They'll be tough to beat." The blond nodded and glanced over at the television. Currently, an image of a bracket was displayed, showing which teams had already advanced to the second round.

"I dunno. Payton is a pretty good matchup against him. I don't know about that Alexander guy but if anyone in FH1 is gonna beat Lyon, it'll be Payton or Damien."

"Not you?" Melody asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "It's not like you to be modest, Nathan."

"Oh please, I'm the most humble person you'll ever meet." The redhead rolled her eyes, though she noticed Nathan hadn't gone back on his word. ' _For him to be so sure he'd lose must mean Payton and Damien really are something special.'_ Suddenly, Zachary, who hadn't said a word the entire fight, spoke up in a monotone voice.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, Nathan is right."

"See? I am humble!"

"Not that, you idiot. About Damien and Payton potentially being the only ones able to beat Lyon. Payton's Quirk gives him a fairly large advantage but it's still a coin flip since his physical strength isn't much," Zach stated, ignoring Nathan's mock outrage and declarations of his 'humbleness'. The boy got a dark look on his face as he rested his chin against his knuckles. "Damien is another matter entirely. He's got Number One potential and his control over his Quirk is beyond even that of our upperclassmen."

"I hope they get paired up during the final round. That would be a fun fight to watch," Narruk commented.

" _Would the final two teams please make your way to your designated tunnels, thank you,"_ a feminine voice announced over the intercom. Paying almost no mind to their previous conversation, Nathan whipped around and scanned the crowd until his eyes landed on Payton and his partner walking towards one of the two preparation tunnels. While his friend looked about as cheery as ever – Nathan blamed that on the boy's habit of hiding his nerves behind that stereotypical Canadian kindness – his partner looked as if he'd had the worst day of his life. ' _Good luck, man. Don't you dare fall for Vanessa's tricks.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Diana shifted the weight of her skateboard on her shoulder and tried as hard as she could to listen to her teammate, a job made more difficult by her fast speech and heavy accent. Despite her hearing aids, the reptilian had found it very difficult to converse with Vanessa over the course of their training week. The girl's rather… prickly personality hadn't helped matters much either. Every time she'd tried to help planning with the girl, her suggestions had been largely turned down or ignored. It was more than a little infuriating but somehow she'd managed to keep her composure largely in check. With a sigh, she turned up the volume of her hearing aids after having them off halfway through Melody's match to tune out her teammate. "Remembair, een ordair to use my Quirk you hahve to attract zeir attention. Seence zey already know how eet wahrks we will hahve to use zeir arrogance against zem. Attack Payton first and drahw hees attention. Wance you make some space I can swoop een and take out Alecsander."

"Sounds good," Diana responded briefly. Just as Vanessa opened her mouth to speak again, Mr. Holl's voice came back over the arena's loudspeaker.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, we are_ _onto_ _our final match of the first round. After this, we will have a two-hour intermission for the competitors to lick their wounds and prepare themselves for the next round, which will follow_ _through_ _the two versus two format. The final match for today will be fought on the Lake Field,"_ Holl announced. Diana breathed a sigh of relief as the ground split to reveal a large, rectangular lake with a series of wooden boardwalks crisscrossing its surface. ' _I can work with this. It gives me a better chance than going at them with my skateboard or just running.'_

"Oh, _merde_. I 'ate ze wahtair," Vanessa bemoaned, glaring at the murky green surface.

" _Please welcome the participants for our final match of the round. On the red team,_ _there's_ _Komo and Medusa, while on the blue team we have Metal Hydra and Canadian Winter!"_ As the iron gates lowered and the cheering of the crowd swelled, Diana took a deep breath and held her head high as she and Vanessa marched into the arena. As soon as they stepped onto the creaky wooden boardwalk, the reptilian girl stripped off her black jacket and slung her skateboard back over her shoulder. Her partner gave her an odd look before simply nodding. "You 'ave a plan I presume."

"Just try to keep them looking at you. If you need help, just stomp three times on the dock," Diana muttered just as Ms. Whittaker announced the start of the battle. Before Vanessa could even respond, the reptilian girl leaped off of the dock and splashed into the water. As soon as she was submerged, Diana relaxed slightly and listened. Even with her bad hearing – her hearing aids were practically useless underwater – she could make out the distorted sounds of footsteps nearly halfway across the arena. It seemed as if her opponents were being cautious of both her and her partner. She swam, trying to go as deep as she could towards the bottom as silently as possible, a few dozen yards until she was almost directly beneath her opponents.

From her depth, she could just barely make out their shadows blocking out the thin streams of light emanating through the spaces between the boards. She could hear their voices but couldn't make out any particular words. By the sound of it, however, Payton was a little bit too hyped up while Alexander was silent apart from his heavy, almost mechanical footsteps. Quietly, she ascended and poked her head above the surface. "–ater. She's a quick swimmer and her skin makes her a tough opponent in close combat. They couldn't have given her a better field to work around."

"I could alwa–"

"No, it'd take too much out of you. Even if we both did it, we'd only succeed in taking out one. Then Vanessa could easily win it," Alexander interrupted, causing Payton to make a sound of indignation. ' _Good, I don't think they know I'm here. Hopefully, Vanessa is keeping her distance,'_ Diana thought as she continued her slow paddle, making sure to stay several yards behind her targets. She heard, rather than saw, the whir of Alexander's mechanical arm as it transformed into a miniature cannon from his elbow to his wrist. As he spoke, Diana moved as quickly as she could and hefted herself out of the water, using her claws to dig into the bottom of the pier, leaving her dangling just centimeters above the lake's surface. "Inserting Lightning Core. Electric Misery."

"What are you doing?" Payton inquired. Alexander simply gave him a sidelong glance before firing a bolt of lighting from his arm cannon into the water below them. For a brief second, it was completely silent other than the distinct crackle of electricity as the lightning spread out in an intricate, circular web around them. Seemingly satisfied, Alex's arm returned to normal and he glanced ever so briefly in the direction of Vanessa, who'd created some space by retreating to a more remote corner of the lake.

"Flushing out Diana. If she were below us right then, she'd have been forced to surface."

"If you didn't electrocute her first. Jeez man, a little warning would be nice."

"That kinda removes the whole 'surprise' element of a surprise attack, don't you think? Besides, I think we're good for n– ack!" Alexander exclaimed as Diana's hand darted out from over the side of the bridge and latched onto his leg. Payton, just seconds too slow in his reaction, swore and leaped forward as his partner went tumbling into the water with a loud splash. He heard a thump from behind him and turned just in time to duck beneath Diana's attempt to bash him over the head with a skateboard. She followed up by kicking him in the chest and sending him stumbling backward. With a flourish, Diana spun and slammed into Payton's side with her tail, nearly sending him tumbling into the water like his partner.

"Crap, she's faster than she looks," Payton said aloud, already feeling the start of a pretty nasty bruise on his arm where she'd hit him. ' _Gotta slow her down. Ah! Cold-blooded, right. My specialty then,'_ he thought. Suddenly, the temperature of the air in the stadium dropped several degrees as black clouds began to form overhead. Payton's already messy hair whipped around as a strong, biting breeze began to pick up, followed by small, pearl white snowflakes. It began as a flurry but rapidly grew as the snow swirled around the brunette like a tornado.

 **Payton Billé**

 **Quirk: Storm Front**

 **Payton can create and control warm and cold fronts in the air to create various weather phenomena. However, the bigger the storm he makes, the more energy he uses.**

"Time for you to hibernate, Diana! Blizzard!" Payton cried as he thrust his hands forward. The snowstorm effortlessly followed his command and gathered around him before billowing forward like a tidal wave towards the already shivering reptilian. Then, unexpectedly, the mass of white slowed and its bulk began to gather on the wooden planks below them. Whereas she'd been expecting to be engulfed in a whiteout, Diana was somewhat shocked when she barely got a light dusting from the attack. It didn't take her long to figure out why; Payton's body was as still as a statue, though his eyes whirled around in their sockets. Behind the boy stood Vanessa, smirking smugly as she tapped the boy on his shoulder.

"You deed naht see zat coming, Payton? 'Ow sad," the girl said confidently, her eyes no longer their normal pale purple but instead glowed with an intense amber light. The girl's gaze turned to her frost-covered partner, who now knelt on the ground with her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. "Don't tell me you are geeving up zat easeely. We steell 'ave a battle to ween."

 **Vanessa Monteur**

 **Quirk: Immobilization**

 **Through touch or direct eye contact, Vanessa can completely immobilize up to three targets. However, if her concentration is disrupted for even a moment, the effect wears off.**

"First, let us tie up ziss imbécile." Vanessa reached down and grabbed the spool of capture rope hanging from the waist of her gown. Diana was still knelt on the ground shivering when she saw an arm, covered in black scales, lunge up from the water below and grab ahold of the side of the dock. She tried to call out to her partner but only succeeded in biting her tongue through her shivering. Alexander pulled himself halfway onto the boardwalk and pointed his other hand to the air above Vanessa and Payton's heads.

"ACIDIC RAIN!" As soon as the first drop hit her skin, Vanessa cried out in pain and was just able to dive out of the way before the deluge corroded a hole in the pier beneath her. With his captor's attention diverted, Payton quickly leaped to his teammate's side and glared angrily at him.

"You could at least _try_ not to get me caught in your attack. Now my costume is all ruined!" He whined, motioning down to his bodysuit; the arctic camouflage and large red maple leaf pockmarked by tiny burns. Alexander rolled his eyes and flexed his shoulder, causing the used Toxic Core to pop out.

"Would you rather have yourself captured?" He responded, clearly annoyed, as he pulled another cylindrical Core from his belt. The sound of whirring gears emanated from his arm as he inserted the core and raised it. The barrel of his hand cannon glowed a bright red before belching out a blast of orange fire. "Raging Blaze!"

"Diana," Vanessa growled urgently as the fire streaked towards them. The reptilian girl nodded, though still shivering violently, and leaped in front of her partner, crossing her arms over her face and closing her eyes as the flames approached. Luckily, her body was just large enough to either block or deflect most of the attack, keeping her partner safe. Once it was over Diana glanced down at herself. Her skin and clothing were smoking slightly but it seemed as if the fire had done less damage than she'd anticipated, causing her to sigh in relief. ' _Thank goodness I asked for the fireproof option for my costume. I think I'd die of embarrassment if what happened to Clara during the relay race happened to me in front of all these people. At least now I'm warm,'_ she thought. Behind her, Vanessa glared into the smokescreen for a moment before her face lost its color. "Down!"

"Inserting Frost Core." As Alexander prepped his own attack, his teammate grinned wildly and raised his arms, causing the sky to become darkened by stormclouds. Almost immediately, a freezing wind began to pick up-which caused Diana to growl in annoyance-as her opponents glanced at one another. "No, absolutely not!"

"Why? It'd be awesome!"

"We are _not_ naming our combo move something that stupid. It's not even scientifically correct," Alexander snapped, pointing his arm towards the two girls. Payton just rolled his eyes and clapped his hands together. The intensity of the winds grew until the layers of clouds above them swirled in an inky black hurricane with its summoner situated safely in its eye. "Freezi–"

"ABSOLUTE ZERO!" Payton howled over his partner. In an instant, the entirety of the stadium was filled with a massive cloud of ice and snow that completely engulfed all four participants, as well as Ms. Whittaker. While the crowd wasn't subjected to the full assault of the cold, many were blasted with waves of freezing air. A thin coating of frost covered every available surface in the stadium.

" _What just happened? THAT WAS AWESOME!"_ Oddball cheered from inside the commentary booth. While the crowd had been spared, it became evident that those in the stadium hadn't been so lucky as the mist began to clear. The lake was completely frozen over, even jutting up into stalagmites in some places, while pieces of the boardwalk, particularly the damper planks, had splintered and fallen apart. Then there were those inside the arctic landscape; Ms. Whittaker stood on her referee stand, shivering violently. Clearly, her costume – which consisted of a buckskin crop top, very short shorts, and completed with brown leather boots and a ten-gallon hat – wasn't built for the cold. Not far away from her, Vanessa struggled against the icy prison that had enveloped her after she'd been pushed into the water by a strong gust of wind. Her partner had fared better but not by much; The reptilian girl was lying on the frozen pier, her eyes closed and her breathing was measured. Whether she'd been knocked out or had entered a state of hibernation, Alexander didn't know.

"S-s-s-since both K-Komo and M-M-Medusa are una-able to battle, t-this round g-goes to Canadian W-Winter and M-Metal Hydra!" Elvira stuttered before turning on her heel and walking swiftly towards the warm safety of one of the preparation tunnels.

"Wahoo! We did it!" Payton cheered and clapped his partner on the back, who seemed quite annoyed at the action.

"I specifically told you we were _not_ calling it 'Absolute Zero'," Alexander snarled, glaring at his teammate, who smiled sheepishly in return and crossed his arms behind his head. ' _Why did I have to get paired up with him. I'd rather face MacAllister without my Quirk than deal with this any longer than I have to.'_ It took a few moments for the stadium to calm down before it defrosted as the storm clouds overhead dissipated. Then, once their teacher had announced their victory, a nurse and the school's groundskeepers, the pale white dwarves named Castor and Pollux, rushed onto the field. While the brown-haired nurse managed to rouse Diana enough to get her walking, the two small men grunted at one another. Castor hopped up on Pollux's shoulders and then there was a flash of light that nearly blinded Alexander. Once his vision returned he didn't see the two brothers but instead an absolute skyscraper of a man, easily eclipsing a dozen feet tall, reaching down and with apparent ease and yanking Vanessa from the bulk of ice she'd been trapped in. "Woah, I always wondered what those little dudes could do. Sweet!"

 **Castor and Pollux**

 **Quirk: Combine**

 **These two twins can combine their bodies together to create a much bigger, much stronger being. However, it takes quite a bit of coordination as Castor controls the left side of its body, while Pollux controls the right.**

" _Ladies and gentlemen, this brings an end to the first round of our Halloween Battle Festival. After a two hour intermission for our remaining competitors to lick their wounds and prepare themselves_ _, we will soon be back for our first match of round two; team Elisnore and Clyde versus Alpha and Solar!_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Sooo~... Where'd you run off to, eh?" Derrick sighed and turned to face his fellow commentator. The man had shed his usual overbearing dome, his scarred face now on full display. Though his tone had its usual playful inflection, the teacher could tell that his former mentor was being serious. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I got a call from an old friend." Oddball's yellow eyes narrowed slightly, then he grinned.

"Carlyle, eh? So, did you two finally iron out your differences or are you letting a fifteen-year-old feud put everything at risk?" Oddball asked, causing Holl to silently curse the older man's perceptiveness. As goofy as the Second Ranked Hero acted, his mind was as sharp as any Professional Hero Derrick had ever seen.

"It wasn't exactly Carlyle. More like… a mutual associate."

"Ah, I see… You both know that you're only driving the stake deeper and the deeper it goes the more it's gonna kill that girl when she finally finds out the truth."

"Yes, I know. Can we change the subject? I'd really rather not get into this right now. We've got more important things to deal with," Derrick snapped, his knuckles clenched hard on the arm of his chair. The older man's hard glare did not soften but he leaned back in his chair and waved his hand nonchalantly. Even having known Oddball all of his adult life, Derrick still found his old mentor's split-second transitions from complete airhead to calculating professional absolutely jarring. He had no idea how Harmony had dealt with him as long as she did. ' _Though, she wasn't much better. One second she'd be singing some new pop song and the next she'd wailing on me or Max Abrams for messing around and screwing up her rhythm. She certainly had the right temperament to deal with Oddball. I'm just surprised they never tore each other apart.'_

"Yes, yes fine. Now~, what did your associate tell you then? Something about the Order?"

"Better," Holl said, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small vial filled with a viscous purple liquid. He tossed the vial to Oddball, who caught and brought it closer to his face to examine it. Anticipating the man's next question, Derrick pulled out another sheet of paper and began to read. "This is from Overgrown's report about the man he fought against during the Yonkers Incident: 'On several different occasions during our confrontation, my opponent – who called himself Spitfire – ingested what appeared to be a small purple pill. In the moments following these instances, his power seemed to grow and he suffered little to no effects of overuse from his Quirk. It is my belief that this is some form of a power-enhancing drug, most likely a form of Trigger, though I have never personally heard of a substance that enhances a person's power this much. The drug also seemed to wear off much quicker than traditional Trigger, lasting only around ten to fifteen minutes. The man also didn't seem to adopt the intoxication and power craze that other forms of Trigger are known to cause'."

"So… this is that new drug then?" Oddball asked, holding up the vial and shaking it. "I thought the report said it was in pill form?"

"My associate thinks that this is a distilled version. If this is indeed a new form of Trigger, one that increases a target's power even more than the traditional drug, then the Black Order just got a lot more dangerous. By our knowledge, they have not started selling or distributing it yet so I'd assume it's not fully perfected," Holl explained as Oddball popped open the top of the vial and sniffed the purple substance, recoiling in disgust.

"Why the hell would anyone willingly take this stuff? Smells worse than my gym bag."

"Look, your resources are much greater than mine. I know you have contacts in the pharmaceutical field so I'm asking you to look into this. Try and find out what it's made from and maybe we can create some sort of counter. If Spitfire was able to go up against Overgrown and nearly beat him… imagine what Prophet could do if he took this stuff." Just the thought of the Villain's powers being any greater than they already were sent a jolt of fear rippling through his entire body. Oddball gave him a sympathetic look and set the vial on the table in front of him.

"Yeah, I remember your old man from my days at the Forge. He always has been a powerhouse. Still one of the only three people to score a perfect five hundred on the entrance exam. If he hadn't lost his damned mind all those years ago he could've been the most powerful Hero in the history of the United States. Hell, he could've given All Might a run for his money."

"So you see why this is a big deal? We have to find a way to take this drug out of the equation in case we ever come up against them. We have t–" Oddball groaned loudly and held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Fine, fine, I'll have an old buddy of mine analyze it. Jeez, you're naggier than my wife," the Second Ranked Hero said. There was a long moment of silence as both men stared down at the vial before Oddball suddenly stood. The old man grunted as his knees popped and he rolled his neck before grabbing his dome mask from the corner of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"We've got two hours until the next round and after hearing all of that, I could really use a drink."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **I know the battle was a bit short but I honestly couldn't think of a way to extend it without ruining it. Payton and Alexander both have parts to their Quirks that allow them to incapacitate Diana and Vanessa's Quirk has very specific guidelines to its activation. All in all, this was one of the more one-sided matches of the first round, which hey is finally over! The stakes are only getting higher from here.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 35: In His Shadow**

 **Q &A: Eris and Alexander Blackwood**

 **To Eris: what happens to your bone after you use them? Do you suck them back up or throw it away like a chicken bone**

 _ **Eris:**_ _Once I take them out of my body they do not go back inside. But that doesn't mean I'll throw my black bones away. Alex needs some good quality metal to make his spares and it's not that hard for me to make them._

 **To Alex: what do you like other than your sister?**

 _ **Alex:**_ _Thinking about how my father will meet His demi…_

 _ **Eris:**_ _*Punches his arm lightly*_

 _ **Alex:**_ _I mean, books. I like books._

 **To Both: Have either of you had your first kiss yet?**

 _ **Alex and Eris:**_ _*Blushing* Next question_

 **To Both: In a parallel world where you are a Villain, what would your Villain name be?**

 _ **Alex**_ _: Assuming I have the same quirk as my shitty father, Azrael_

 _ **Eris**_ _: Ehm... I guess I would still want some kind of acknowledgment from the masses so... DarkStar I guess_

 **To Both: it's karaoke night, what song do you sing?**

 _ **Both:**_ _Hey Brother by Aviici._

 **To Both: What's your ideal type?**

 _ **Eris**_ _Sparkling eyes: He needs to be a gentleman that treats me like a princess, tells funny jokes and has some sense of humor, and of course, treats my brother with respect._

 _ **Alex**_ _: My ideal type needs to be clever. An intellectual match to me at least or superior, I don't mind. A lovely smile and must be able to tolerate my sister._

 **Who is your favorite Hero?**

 _ **Eris**_ _: The Soaring Hero: Aeroblast! He's cool, he always saves the day and he is a fucking dreamboat!_

 _ **Alexander**_ _: I really didn't agree to this to hear about my sister's fantasies. Anyway, I don't really have a favorite Hero. The closest would be Black Knight since his Quirk is similar to mine but other than that… I couldn't care less.._


	36. Chapter 35: In His Shadow

Clara had thought this would happen. No, she'd known from the moment she'd beaten Lyle and Lilia that this moment would come so it was no surprise that her phone pinged just moments after the final fight of the first round had ended. The text message was straightforward and no-nonsense, just as she'd expected it to be. It had given her a meeting place and a deadline of two minutes to make it there, but she really shouldn't have bothered. This was another test that she was designed to fail, to give _him_ yet another excuse to berate and call her a failure. The spot was out of the way, concealed, and completely across the extensive campus but nevertheless, she arrived just shy of the two-minute mark to see her father standing at the edge of the marina, staring at the smog-covered silhouette of Manhattan. "You're late."

"No shit," She replied breathlessly, not giving in to the strong urge to sit down and rest. That would just have been a cause for more… punishment. Subconsciously, she reached her hand up to the three parallel scars that marred the back of her neck. Richard Ramirez turned towards her, his eyes just as cold and calculating as they'd always been.

"You were nearly beaten, your control and form are still very far behind my expectations, and your demeanor is that of a pouty child. Turn around," Without hesitation, much to her chagrin, her body did as he instructed and she turned. This would normally be about when she'd expect the blow to come. Quick and harsh, leaving yet another 'training incident' bruise.

However, it didn't.

Ice shot through her veins and her whole body stiffened as her father's fingers came into contact with her fresh scars, "Even unwillingly, you've finally gotten rid of that blasted hair. This should improve your combat effectiveness a slight amount, which you obviously need. You should add another mile to your daily runs, as well as increasing your repetitions. Your Quirk, regrettably, still needs much work before I can teach you my more advanced techniques. You've still got a long way to go until you're worthy of your lineage."

"You say that like it's some great honor," Clara retorted sardonically.

"I will not go through this with you again. It's only by my blessing you're attending U.S.A.E.I. and that blessing can be taken away _very_ easily," Her father scowled at her before his eyes looked at her from top to bottom. If possible, his expression became sourer as he took a step back from her, "I distinctly remember telling you to redesign your costume. Not only is the amount of skin you're showing unsightly, but it's also impractical. What if a Villain with a knife-based Quirk attacked you? You've so little protection, it would be like cutting paper."

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Clara sneered turning away from him in disgust. ' _The more you tell me to change it, the worse it's gonna get_ ,' As it usually did when she acted disobediently – and despite the custom-made voice dampener – her father's voice rose several octaves when he spoke again.

"I do NOT have the patience to deal with your teenage rebellion. You _will_ take what I've said today seriously. You know what will happen should you disobey me. Now, I believe you have a match to prepare for and I have work to do."

"..." Clara – perhaps wisely – just kept silent as her father gave her one last loathing look and, without so much as a goodbye, walked past her back towards the stadium. She stood there, still as a statue, until her father turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, Clara slumped against one of the marina's weather-damaged wooden support beams. She felt exhausted and weak, two feelings she truly hated. Gritting her teeth, the girl clenched her already fractured hand into a fist and let out a shout of fury that echoed over the Hudson River. Once her throat began to ache, she stopped, whirled around, and marched back towards the festival, using the sleeve of her backup jacket to wipe her eyes, ' _Damn him.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Aw, what are we gonna do for two hours? Why can't we just start fighting now?" Nathan bemoaned, much to the chagrin of his companion, who rolled his eyes and slumped over the steel tabletop.

"I'd really rather not," Zachary droned. He winced as the bruises he'd gotten from his brawl with Ryūken ached. Beside him, the blond leaned back and stared towards the entrance of the preparation room. With no sign of either Payton or Melody, one of whom had just finished their fight while the other had run off to visit her friend in the infirmary, his enthusiasm diminished a bit. Sensing that his companion would rather sit in silence than be drawn into another conversation, Nathan pulled out his cellphone and began scrolling through the throngs of text messages he'd gotten over the past few hours. There were the obligatory congratulations from his parents and extended family, the awe from the very small number of his old schoolmates that he still kept in contact with, and, surprisingly, a few messages from his father's sidekicks. It was as he was reading through these messages that his phone let out a very eerie, dark tone that brought a smile to his face.

' _Everyone seems to be okay. Kira and Andi got healed up pretty quickly and Lyon's still… well, Lyon. Will b back soon.'_

"Text from your girlfriend?" Nathan leaped a foot in the air at the sudden voice in his ear, which only caused Payton to laugh as he took the seat beside him. The boy looked no worse for wear after his fight, though his hair did look even messier than usual. In his hands, he carried a trio of canned sodas that he passed out to the table's other occupants.

"Piss off, weather boy," Nathan shot back as he popped the tab on his.

"You didn't deny it. You hear that, Zach? He didn't deny it," Payton mocked, leaning forward to speak to the table's third occupant. Zach glared at his friend before he sighed and glanced towards the large timer – counting down until the next round of the tournament – flashing on one of the prep room's many screens. Annoyed, Nathan smacked the back of Payton's head and shoved his phone violently into his pocket.

"Drop it." Payton chuckled and held his hands up in mock surrender and decided to change the subject.

"So, we all made it to the next round, eh? Too bad Zach has to face Damien. He had a good life and loved his friends despite looking so miserable all the time."

"I don't like you when you're happy," Zach grunted. Payton ignored this and turned his attention back to Nathan. Seeing the blond still staring down at his phone, the ghost of a smile resting on his face, the Canadian shrugged and leaned back. ' _Jeez, not even with her_ yet _and he's already beyond whipped. I feel for ya, Nate. I just really hope everything works out for you. Can't have another perpetually depressed person in this group. Have to have at least one that's happy.'_ Suddenly, there was a wave of commotion in the dozen or so students in the room. As Payton leaned back further to see what was going on, something slammed into his head and caused him to fall off of his seat. When he looked up, he saw a very irate Clara lifting her partner up by the scruff of his shirt.

"Ah! C-Clara?" The boy, Sirius if Payton remembered correctly, cried out as he was brought nearly nose to nose with the magenta-haired girl. From seemingly out of nowhere, the group's third member appeared and started to advance on Clara but froze when the girl sent her a withering glare.

"Why the hell are you just sitting around? We've got ninety minutes, which means there's plenty of time to make sure you aren't as useless as you were in the last match. Narruk and what's-his-name ain't going to be as easy to beat as bleach-breath and cat girl. I don't intend on losing because you two don't pull your own weight. Let's go." Payton watched – along with every other pair of eyes in the room – as the short-statured boy was slung over Clara's shoulder and, despite his protests, carried out of the room, quickly followed by an incensed Epiphany.

"Thank god she's in FH2," Zach grumbled, clearly unimpressed by the spectacle. Nathan couldn't help but agree. From what he'd seen of the girl, she was more than a little prickly and didn't respond well to others. By his best guess… she'd have killed him within a week if they'd been put in the same class.

"Very inspiring class of future heroes, we are. I swear, half our year is in some way antisocial, way too hot-tempered, or completely full of themselves," Nathan remarked.

"Funny you'd say that considering you're a part of the latter," Payton shot back with his grin returning. The blond quickly retaliated by taking a swipe at his classmate with sharpened nails, but it didn't seem like his heart was in it, as his target easily dodged.

"Nathan, no causing trouble before our next match. I don't wanna get disqualified because you attacked your classmate." At the sound of the voice, Nathan froze and his head jerked to the side as the trio was joined by Melody and Andi. While his childhood friend only looked a little beaten up from their previous fight, her smaller companion looked as if she'd been awake for three days straight and hit by a bus. Catching his gaze, Andi smiled brightly and shrugged her shoulders.

"Nurse did the best she could. Kira can really pack a punch when she wants to," she explained. Accepting this, Nathan turned his attention back to his main concern.

"How're you feeling, Mel? Good for our next match?" He questioned, causing the girl to groan and bring her hands up to massage her temples.

"Used my Quirk quite a bit against Hazel and Benji, so the usual migraine. Other than that though, I'm fine for the most part. Mrs. Holl and her assistant did a wonderful job fixing up any aches and pains," she explained. Nathan nodded but his frown didn't disappear. As much as she teased him about being arrogant and stubborn, she could usually match him – or in some cases, surpass him – when it came to the latter. ' _Even if we end up winning this match, there's no way she'll recover in time for the final eight tomorrow. One of these days her Hero Complex is gonna get her seriously hurt… or worse,'_ he thought grimly.

"You okay, Furball?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"You've been staring at Melody for like a minute. It's creepy," Payton interjected with a knowing grin.

"Quiet down, weather boy. She's got a pimple on her nose. Very distracting," He said matter-of-factly, making Melody roll her eyes and give him a hard shove.

"I do not. Now come on, let's go grab some grub before the second round starts. I don't wanna miss a single second of their fight," the redhead said as she grabbed his arm and roughly jerked him to his feet. He tried to ignore the heat that began creeping up his neck and face as he knocked into her, nearly sending both of them sprawling. It seemed as if Melody had paid the brief contact no mind and was more focused on pulling him away from the rest of their friends, though as he looked back he was none-too-pleased with the sight of a certain Canadian and known gossip whispering conspiratorially. ' _I've gotta remember to use Payton's bed as a scratching post tonight.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You sure you wanna face her alone? If she's as big a threat as you say, teamwork is easily the better strategy," Kenny said, his skin almost ghostly pale in the dim light of the tunnel. Narruk shrugged as he scrutinized the large battle ax in his hands. Even in the low light, Kenny could make out the seam in the wood from where it had been broken in their last match. "Fine, as long as you take her seriously. If she was able to not only keep up with but also beat Lilia, she's a tough opponent."

"Wasn't she ranked last in your class?" Narruk inquired absentmindedly.

"Never underestimate an opponent just based on their school record. It was mostly the homesickness that stunted her in the entrance exam. In any case, from what I've seen and heard Clara is not so different from her father." The canine whistled lowly as he shouldered the weapon and began stretching.

"Don't let her hear you say that unless you wanna lose your hearing. She's a bit… mental whenever the topic of good ol' Seismos is brought up. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much. You're forgetting that splitting them up leaves them at just as big of an advantage. Add to the fact that Sirius and Epiphany aren't exactly suited to this type of combat and you should be able to overpower them easily."

"What do you mean by 'this type of combat'?" Kenny inquired. Narruk frowned and glanced past the iron bars that barred them from entering the arena. Their battlefield had been revealed several minutes prior to his partner starting up their current conversation and he couldn't be more unimpressed. It reminded Narruk of the idyllic rolling hills he'd seen when his family had visited relatives in Belgium.

"Open terrain. Sirius and Epiphany work better when they don't have to worry about Sirius. More enclosed spaces with lots of places to hide… that's where they excel. Clara would also probably enjoy having a field like that since her screams would have an easier time resonating off the walls. Here, she's going to have to put a lot more effort into focusing her attack. I'd say we have the advantage but Clara isn't one to go down without a fight. No offense, but you don't stand a chance against her."

"Thanks," Kenny muttered sardonically.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back to the second round of U.S.A.E.I's annual Halloween Tournament. For our first match of this round, we have the team of Elsinore and Clyde versus Solar and Alpha. In their last matches, both teams proved to have overwhelming might on their side,"_ Holl announced, his voice barely audible over the cheering crowd. Narruk grinned and gave his partner a sidelong glance.

"Guess they liked us in the last fight, eh?"

" _Oh, this should be a good one! We've seen so many strong students today. I can't wait until I can get a chance to get them to join my agency!"_ Oddball said, following his statement with a rather unsettling chuckle that left Narruk feeling sorry for whatever poor souls had to deal with him on a daily basis. Being one of those poor souls, Derrick sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing.

" _Right then. Just a reminder for everyone, the winners of this match and all those that follow today will be placed on a randomized one versus one bracket for the final round tomorrow. With that said, let the second round begin!_ " As he had in their last match, Narruk immediately took point while Kenny stayed back and spread his arms out, trying to catch as much sun as he possibly could. When he turned his gaze away from his teammate, he was instantly bombarded by a – thankfully diluted – Howl from Clara, whose glare threatened pain and suffering to anything that got in her way. While it had been lessened somewhat, the screech still had an effect on Narruk's more tuned senses and due to the ringing in his ears, he smelled rather than heard Sirius and Epiphany approaching from his right. He ducked below a wild swing from Epiphany's Shinai and attempted to sweep her feet out from under her, only to find that her swing had been a feint to draw his attention as she and her host ran past him.

"You should know better," Clara growled as she slammed her foot into the crouching boy's side, "than to turn your back on me!"

"You've been working on your kicks," Narruk pointed out as he stood, appearing seemingly unphased from the attack, apart from one of his hands lowering to rest against the point of contact. Clara scowled and took a deep breath. Seeing this, Narruk charged her and tried to punch her in the gut, only for her to step out of the way and swing at him again, an attack he barely avoided. ' _She's trying to bait me into getting close. Her specialty is mid-range combat using her voice and strength to knock her opponents back if they get too close, so why is she trying to make this close combat?'_

"What's the matter, Wolf? Can't even hit a poor defenseless girl?" She mocked, though Narruk knew from watching her that she was anything but defenseless. Out of everyone in their class – or even Class FH1 for that matter – she was the closest to him in terms of physical strength. Quite frankly, he'd been looking forward to finally having another go at her after their last sparring session – if one could even call it that. The first time they'd fought had really opened his eyes as to how ruthless that girl could be.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

" _Gah!" Marcus cried as he slammed into the ring's ropes and fell to the padded floor. Ms. Honoka was by his side in a flash and knelt over him with a first aid kit at her side. Appearing slightly dazed, the boy tried to stand back up but didn't make it far before a combination of Honoka's hand on his shoulder and his own lack of balance caused him to fall back into a seated position with a grimace. "Still fight."_

" _You're done, McPherson. Mondronen, good work." As Narruk removed his gloves and returned to his corner, he sighed. From the beginning of their Quirk-less hand-to-hand course, it had become clear that he was a cut above the rest. His technique was more refined than many of his classmates and those who had better techniques were no match to the extra strength his Quirk gave him. He'd even managed to knock out the nigh-infallible Lyon earlier in the lesson by simply overpowering him. 'Ms. Honoka was right when she said people put too much emphasis on their Quirks. Lyon would torch me alive under normal circumstances,'_ he thought as the combat teacher sat his opponent down on the bleachers with the rest of the class, instructing Oliver to keep an eye on him _. "I have no doubt that if any of you were in a situation where your Quirk was unusable and you had to fight your way out… none of you, save Mondronen, would survive. McPherson, MacAllister, and Kazani, you've all had previous training but you rely on your Quirks to augment your own skills. Halloway, you have excellent form but a distinct lack of killer instinct and inherent strength while Suharto is the exact opposite. Take your defeats today and learn from them. It_ will _save your lives once you become Pros."_

" _That is... unless the wolf kills 'em all first." A dark look briefly passed over the white-haired woman's face as she rounded on her most temperamental student – as well as the one most likely to send her into an insanity filled rampage. She had half a mind to pull out her sharpest knife and embed it into the wall beside the petulant girl's head._

" _Enough Ramirez." Clara grinned maliciously at Narruk, who'd stiffened slightly at her proclamation. Just watching the boy fight had really made her blood boil – granted, most things made her blood boil after spending an hour on the phone with her father. The girl hopped to her feet and approached the ring. As she did so, Narruk couldn't help but notice how predatory her gait was as she slipped underneath the bottom rope and began putting on her own gloves._

" _Seems like such a shame. That much power and the one who inherits it is too much of a coward to learn to control it. Not only is it stupid to ignore such a massive part of your Quirk but it's also insulting to the rest of us_ _,_ " _The girl slammed her gloved fists together and walked forward to meet Narruk, who'd stayed mostly silent through her tirade. He truly didn't have anything to say. It wasn't as if he could dispute her when those exact same thoughts had haunted him since he'd left home. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was only partially paying attention when he and Clara tapped gloves, nor did he notice until it was nearly too late that Clara's fist was on a collision course to his head._

" _Attacking someone right off the bat? Didn't know you fought dirty Clara," he said, finally breaking his silence as he blocked her blow with his forearm. The girl grinned at him and suddenly he felt an intense pain in his groin before falling to the ground in a heap. He was dimly aware – thanks to his enhanced hearing – that several of his male classmates had either taken a sharp intake of breath or grunted in sympathy while Honoka was making her way over to them with murder in her eyes. That didn't seem to frighten Clara. Instead of doing what any rational person would have done and gotten out of the teacher's way, the magenta-haired girl knelt down onto his level and smirked._

" _No such thing as dirty in a fight, Pussy Wolf."_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Howl Missile!" Narruk swore under his breath as he dove aside to avoid the brunt of his opponent's attack. ' _Focus, last time I lost_ _was_ _because I wasn't paying attention. She knows exactly what to say to rattle me so I've gotta be prepared,'_ he thought before unlatching his ax and swinging it towards her with all his might, just barely missing her as she sidestepped and tried to get into his personal space – no doubt trying to make his ax as minimal a factor in their fight as possible. Before she could do much damage, Narruk used his momentum to bring the weapon back around and slam the shaft into her stomach, succeeding in buying him a few precious seconds.

Meanwhile, Sirius and Epiphany, the latter several meters in front of her host, stalked across the hills toward Kenny. The boy had been holding the same position since the battle had begun and still showed no signs of moving no matter how close they came, which set the redhead's nerves on edge. "I'm going, Sirius. Stay back!"

"Wait!" Her partner called after her as she ran towards her opponent, lifting her wooden blade above her head, but she never got the chance to swing. Just as she'd reached the boy, Kenny had begun to shine almost blindingly and shot a beam of searing hot light at her. Epiphany hit the ground hard, though she felt no pain from the attack. ' _That coulda seriously hurt if I was still alive. Gotta keep this guy from getting to Sirius or we're done for. Hopefully, the banshee's strategy was really all it was cracked up to be,'_ she thought as she lept back to her feet and charged at the boy again.

"Solar Flare!" Kenny said, firing off another blast of light and heat. While not completely dodging the attack, Epiphany fared slightly better this time around and stayed standing. As soon as he was within the reach of her sword, she swung it hard, aiming for the boy's head and, although he blocked the strike with his arm, smiled triumphantly.

"Widow's Web!" Kenny grunted in pain as a thin, sharp piece of wood splintered from the main body and sliced across his cheek. In an instant, the girl's Shinai exploded into an intricate maze of razor-sharp twigs that seamlessly connected whenever they came into contact with one another. Dozens of small, angry red cuts opened up on Kenny's exposed skin while his bright yellow t-shirt was shredded. By the time the web stopped growing, it had completely encapsulated the purple-haired teen.

"Kenny!"

"Don't get distracted moron!" Clara roared. Narruk, who'd seen his partner's predicament out of the corner of his eye and had turned his head in his direction, grunting as his opponent kicked him in the chest. In anticipation of her next attack, he held _Fenrir_ out in front of him and prepared to use the weapon as a shield. Unphased, Clara reared back her fist and took a deep breath. Despite her scream being at point-blank range, Narruk weathered it well until he realized that, even though it was still ear-splittingly loud, this one was different, more baritone. It was only when her fist slammed into his weapon's shaft that he felt it. He felt the wood splintering and grow hot where her fist had connected as the vibrations coursed up his arms and through his body. "Howl Knuckle!"

"Shit!" He cried out as the wood shattered in his grip. ' _She focused the vibrations in her voice through her body. Clever girl,'_ he thought as his body shook. Apparently still not done, Clara lunged forward with her free hand and grabbed a fist full of the brunet's hair. With all the strength she could muster, Clara yanked his head downwards to meet her already rising knee. There was a sickening crack and pain bloomed from Narruk's freshly broken nose. As he freed himself with a well-placed jab and stumbled back, the boy gripped his face, trying to staunch the flow of blood and then… the pain disappeared.

Clara too stumbled back and nearly lost her balance as the vibrations racking her body started to subside. The amount of vibrations she'd forcibly pushed into her muscles reminded her of the brutal training her father put her through before she left for the Forge and it was only that training that allowed her to keep on her feet. Once she'd calmed down and her body had stopped shaking, she reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, but then she froze when she heard the sound coming from her opponent. A low, animalistic growl.

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Well… seems like every time I talk to you guys lately it's me apologizing for a lack of updates. Again, I'm sorry. Work and writing mix about as well as babies and wood chippers. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to make sure this next one doesn't take a month.**

 **Regardless, if I don't see you all again before the 25th, happy holidays!**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero!**

 **Chapter 36: Alpha**

 **Sirius and Epiphany Q &A**

 _In light of recent events, it came to the knowledge of all of the students in both FH2 and FH1 that a Q &A session was passed. Accordingly, both Sirius and Epiphany are getting ready to answer the questions asked especially for them._

 _"Good morning," smiled the young boy goofily as he stared into the camera, "My name is Sirius–"_

 _"And I'm Epiphany," his female ghost other, which seemingly more enthusiasm than the former, "and today we are going to be having a... Q &A corner!_"

 _The phantom clapped her hands giddily. Even when she's inherently seemed taller than her host, it was difficult to figure out which of them were more mature. Then again, Sirius himself was never really prepared for anything Epiphany threw at him, as he seemed rather taken aback by her suddenly clapping._

 _"Err... Yeah. Wooo..." the indigo-haired boy awkwardly clapped along, "Umm... Yeah, so, we can't answer anything too spoiler-y and, umm.."_

 _"I guess that's all of it," Epiphany mused, rocking her tall bar stool lackadaisically. The two seemingly didn't mind sitting together in the middle of an infinite whiteness. "Come on, let's see the questions!"_

 _Sirius sighed at his partner's impatience. He reached down beside him, towards the space between where their barstools sat, and picked up a little wooden box with an open lid full of small pieces of papers_.

 _"This is a lot," Sirius commented, playfully rocking the little box as the papers danced inside it, "Though, most of them are pointed towards everyone. Which leaves... not a lot for us."_

 _"Yeah we both got three questions each that are specifically aimed at us," Epiphany nodded._

 _Sirius' seemed crestfallen when hearing that, "Guess we aren't that popular, huh..."_

 _"Don't worry about it. I mean we still placed first on most results searched on Discord!" Epiphany boasted, picking up a piece of paper from the box._

 _"Did we?" Sirius questioned._

 _"Yeah! Well... only if we combine both the search results of our names," Epiphany shrugged, ignoring Sirius' judging stare. "Alright, first question..."_

 **[To Epiphany! How is life in the boy's dorm room? Since I assume you would stay there because you are latched onto Sirius?]**

 _"Whoo! A question to me right off the bat!" Said the ghost girl with a nod of her eyebrows, earning a dissatisfied roll of eyes from her other._

 _She repositioned where she sat before looking at the camera with an expression full of confidence, "Yeah I'd make an appearance here and there in the boy's room. Not always though, Sirius himself never really walks far from his room and the TV."_

 _"You say that like I want you to follow me wherever I go!" Sirius exclaimed._

 _"Well we get the idea. I'm forever latched onto Sirius, which means whether or not there's a bunch of hullabaloos happening in the boy's dorm," Epiphany restated, shrugging as she did, "Truth is I don't really need to show myself at all. I mean, you all had seen how I usually speak to Sirius from inside his own head."_

 _"It's convenient," Sirius nodded, "Though, I would've preferred it if you didn't keep singing at the back of my mind."_

 _"It gets boring from time to time," Epiphany said without a hint of sympathy, before she pulled out another one of the papers from the box._

 **[To anyone who cares to answer: what's your favourite sport? If you care at all in this age of quirks.]**

"Wanna answer this one?" Sirius asked his other.

 _"Sure. I mean, it's not told yet but, I used to be a frequent learner in kendo," said the ghost girl, before adding, "When I was alive."_

 _"I think they meant like... Favorite competitive sports on TV or something," Sirius pondered when he took the questionnaire himself and observed it, "I honestly like watching boxing, just for trivia. Got caught in the hype after... Was it Rocky or Creed? I forgot."_

 _"Alright, next one!"_

 **[To everyone who wants to answer, what is your Impression on your class? What students do you have your eye on? What student would you least want to fight?]**

 _"Oof. That's a packet," Epiphany whistled, before tapping her chin, "Let's see... Pretty chill. Sirius. And Melody. Cause she's pretty chill, too."_

 _Sirius caught her second answer and couldn't help but blush. He shook it off and decided to give his own answer, "I was honestly surprised when I was accepted to FH2. T-though, everyone surprised me at first since they all seem very strong and smart and... Err... Other things."_

 _"Not to mention, you crashed to Melody on the first day," Epiphany smirked._

 _"Yeah, well, that one happens a lot to other people," Sirius shrugged her off, "Also... Not right now, no. I don't have any... Ummm... Crushes. And I don't think I want to fight anyone, really."_

 _"Awww, you don't love me?" Epiphany playfully pouted, leaning towards her smaller host as to make him uncomfortable,._

 _"L-let's just move on..."_

 **[To all whom want to answer: How many upperclassmen do you believe you can beat?]**

 _"All of them!" Epiphany said confidently, "Duh!"_

 _"I'd rather not fight anyone," Sirius said, picking up another piece of paper._

 **[To everyone: Who's your favourite hero?]**

 _"Are we going to answer every questions directed to everyone?" Sirius asked._

 _"Well, we wouldn't have many questions to cover otherwise."_

 _"Well, alright," He sighed, before turning to the camera with the paper tapping his mouth, "I think... Overgrown's pretty cool. I don't really know, I never got much into heroic communities."_

 _"Yeah, I used to like Overgrown, like, as a fan," Epiphany said as she slouched back on her stool, "Grew out of it. Still got his merch, though."_

 **[To everyone: What's your favorite kind of music?]**

 _"Oh! This is easy," Sirius beamed, "My favorite kind of music would be... Instrumental soundtracks from movies. Particularly those old fantasy movies... Err, what was the name? Lord of the Rings?"_

 _"I like jazz," Epiphany bounced her eyebrows, "or anything upbeat, really."_

 **[To Sirius: whose spirit would you like to host next?]**

 _"Oh, me?" Sirius said with a smile rising to his lips, "Ummm... This is a hard question. I guess... I don't have any particular choices at the moment. Probably because even right now I'm not at my... Err... best at teamwork."_

 _"I can confirm that," Epiphany added, "I mean, when's the last time Sirius raised his fists in front of others?"_

 _"That's mean... I still care, you know," Sirius lamented, "Even if most of the times the reason we lose is because of me, I still want to work together with someone else."_

 _"Awww!" Cried Epiphany, ruffling her host's hair like how she would with a pet._

 **[To Epiphany: where do you go when you're not in use]**

 _"Not in use?" Epiphany scowled, "The hell does that mean?"_

 _"I... Ummm... I think they meant when you're not around," Sirius quickly jotted in to prevent the ghost girl from venting out in anger._

 _Though, she did not choose to stay silent, "I'll have you know, I use Sirius more than he does with me!"_

 _"Ugh. Epiphany, just answer the question," Sirius pressed with a slight beg in his tone._

 _But before he realized it, Epiphany had flung her arm around his neck again but this time she had her eyes deadlocked onto the camera._

 _"Listen! This'll be an important plot point!" Said the ghost girl, jabbing her finger at Sirius' forehead, "There's this thing called the Astral Plane. A place where spirits like me resides. But since inhabiting this boy's body makes me technically half alive, I can only wander there with limitations; in other words, the back of his mind."_

 _"Errr… yes. Basically," Sirius stuttered at her sudden outburst._

 _"Oh! And since that makes Sirius also half dead, it means that he can alsoooo…" Epiphany trailed off, as if letting the viewers fill in the blanks._

 _The way she gestured her arms to him as if presenting some sort of national treasure made Sirius chuckled, but seemingly looked unsure to answer, "It's a… It's a food for thought."_

 **[To Sirius: How do you go to the bathroom, or... relieve yourself, without Epiphany noticing?]**

 _"Ah," Sirius mumbled under his breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose together, "The age old question..."_

 _"Yeah, it's not as a big deal as you'd think," Epiphany simply said, "You'd get bored of just seeing, eventually."_

 _Her host looked away in shame, "What she meant is that she usually just poof away into the back of my head whenever I go to the restroom..."_

 _"Oh. I still notice," Epiphany smirked, "Just not in my own point of view. Being in the back of Sirius' head meant seeing everything from his eyes. Even when he relieves himself–"_

 _"I do not relieve myself!" Sirius cried, his face reddening._

 **[To everyone: Did you dye your hair or is that natural?]**

 _Sirius stared up, until his eyeballs roll up enough just for him to see his uncut bangs, "Yeah. My Da' has the same indigo color. Ma' has ginger hair, though."_

 _"I actually dyed mine," Epiphany said, which caused the boy to go into shock._

 _"That's dyed?" He asked incredulously._

 _"Yes? No? I don't know. I forgot," she said before laughing at his crestfallen expression._

 **[To Epiphany: Do you shower? How do you shower in the boy's dorms?]**

 _"Good question!" The ghost girl grinned to the camera, "Listen well, kids. The best thing about having a physical manifestation of the soul is that no matter what, your body will not rot."_

 _"She can be smelly from time to time," Sirius told the camera, "But... Not like body odor kind of smell. She actually has a faint smell of... Lavender?"_

 _"Yeah, I used to rub lavender scented moisturizer after kendo training when I was alive," Epiphany confirmed, "Thing is, my physical manifestation is judged based on the memory of how I look."_

 _"That's why she usually smells like iron," Sirius added, his expression darkening, "The smell of blood."_

 _"But hey. I never said whose memory this body was based off of," Epiphany winked._

 **[To all: who is best girl?]**

 _"Me!" The ghost girl bawled._

 _Sirius only raised his shoulders, "I guess her."_

 **[To everyone: Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?]**

 _Sirius looked at the piece of paper on his hands and seemed to be thinking rather hard, "I... Think this question needs a bit of context."_

 _"Don't worry, Sirius is building his harem," Epiphany teased, in which Sirius returned with a scowl._

 _"Shut up," he said sharply._

 **[To everyone: Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?]**

 _"But the Cult of Epiphany sounds pretty cool and scary, ain't it?" Epiphany boasted as leaned closely to Sirius, seemingly still talking about their last question._

 _But Sirius looked like he'd do anything than to discuss the topic of a community dedicated solely on worshipping his phantom other. "I don't particularly care, Epi..."_

 _"Spoilsport," Epiphany half-grumbled as she picked up the current questionnaire paper, "Hmmm... Hard to get into hobbies when you're too busy studying to become a hero."_

 _"You mean, when I'm too busy studying to become a hero..." Sirius deadpanned, "You hardly do anything outside of fighting."_

 _"Oh yeah!" Epiphany said in realization, before slouching back with a lax expression, "Guess I'll pick up basketball or something, then."_

 **[Everyone: Any fashion tips?]**

 _ **The two exchanged glances, before they observed each other's choice of fashion: Sirius' plain white shirt and Epiphany's school uniform with an open collar.**_

 _"I think you're asking the wrong fellas," Epiphany snorted in expense of the question._

 _"Epi... Ummm... She usually knows these kinds of teen fashion stuff," Sirius said, trying to avert the topic from his tacky choices of clothes._

 _"Pfft. I would if I was still alive. I'm stuck with this clothes till purgatory," Epiphany furrowed her eyebrows, "How about this: always wear tank tops when you have a big bust. Acceptable for any occasions, your underside don't sweat a lot, and if you want to cover more, wear a fleece."_

 **[To all the girls: have you ever been kicked in the groin?]**

 _"I don't know, actually," Epiphany admitted, "No one ever tried."_

 _"Well you do keep scaring people away when you were alive," Sirius said._

 _"Eh, I doubt it'll hurt anyways."_

 **[To Sirius: despite living with a ghost are you afraid of horror movies?]**

 _"I don't watch a lot of horror movies actually. They're never my kind of movies," Sirius said as he read the question._

 _"To think a movie fanatic would pussy out on the horror genre," Epiphany mocked._

 _"Well... Being afraid of horror movies is a humane reaction, isn't it?" Sirius defended himself, "It's not that I hate horror movies. I think it's a wonderful genre since it plays a lot on human emotions, but sometimes a movie like that puts too much of it's scariness on shock value, which is a cheater's method to horror, therefore there's really not much to praise from them. I prefer reading about horror than watching it, since I think the scariness comes to life better with imagination."_

 _"B-Rated horror movies are pretty good too, y'know," Epiphany pouted, "Like Mimic or Hollow Man."_

 _"I'm not saying all horror movies are bad," Sirius said, "Lately they became kind of stale. Hollow Man was pretty good, same as The Fly or lesser known ones like The Void and Event Horizon."_

 _"I guess you're right," Epiphany shrugged, "Horror movies these days don't really do it for me anymore. That or being dead takes away the fear of horror and existential dread."_

 **[To everyone: What would you do for a Klondike bar?]**

 _"Those things died a century ago, didn't it?" Sirius raised his eyebrows at the question._

 _"Yep," Epiphany panned._

 **[To everyone: What is your ideal type?]**

 _"Small, cute, and jittery, like this guy," Epiphany proudly stated as she wrapped her arms around Sirius._

 _The latter, as he tries to fight out of her grip while feeling embarrassed, managed to speak out a statement, "I-I'm fine with someone nice..."_

 **[Everyone, finish the lyric: "wake me up _"]**

 _"Not a question, but okay," Epiphany chided with a shrug._

 _"Oh! This is that old meme about three songs with the same phrase but you try to match words that'll become a verse of one of the songs, right?" Sirius said excitedly._

 _"Guess so, yeah," Epiphany responded, "Wanna try this one?"_

 _"Then I guess I'm... Wake me up when September ends," Sirius concluded, singing along just a bit to the verse he chose._

 _"What about me?" Epiphany pointed to herself._

 _"Uhhh..." Sirius thought for a bit, "Wake me up inside?"_

 _"What does that mean?"_

 _"Beats me. It's an old song."_

 **[To Everyone: If there was an apocalypse, which three of your classmates would you pick to be in your survival team and why?]**

 _"Well, obviously I'm stuck to Sirius so we're automatically a pack," Epiphany smirked._

 _"I would... Find out what kind of apocalypse it is, first," Sirius said, "If it was like… a natural disaster apocalypse, then choosing Andrew would be enough. If it was a zombie apocalypse, I could probably manage with Epiphany just the two of us. If it was aliens..."_

 _"Oh yeah, I forgot what kind of person I'm stuck with," Epiphany mumbled sourly._

 **[To everyone: MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA WRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY]**

 _"Nice taste of anime," Epiphany praised, smiling as she did._

 _"I don't watch anime, so I don't understand," Sirius told the camera, "Does it have anything to do with this next one?"_

 **[To everyone: Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away you're coming right to me?]**

 _Then, Epiphany made the deepest most masculine voice she could manage and said, "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting any closer!"_

 _"Welp," Sirius interjected with a deadpan expression, "Moving on."_

 **[To the girls: Who is best boy?]**

 _"Me!" Epiphany yelped again before realizing the question at hand, "Oh, wait, it says 'boy'."_

 _"Well, who is it?" Sirius sarcastically asked, seemingly already know what she will say._

 _But Epiphany noticed this and made a sly grin, "Not telling~"_

 _"You're serious?" The indigo-haired boy panned._

 _"No, you're Sirius!"_

 _He rolled his eyes and carried on with the questionnaire._

 **[To everyone that wants to answer: Realistically, can you keep a small child alive for a week, without direct interference?]**

 _"What does direct interference mean?" Sirius asked as he shared the question with Epiphany._

 _"I guess... Without touching it?" Epiphany said, seemingly also confused._

 _"That's stupid," Sirius stated, "Then how would we keep the small child alive?"_

 _"I think they meant without outside help, or something," Epiphany responded._

 _With that realization, Sirius came to a conclusion, "I guess... It's pretty easy enough. I've seen people take care of babies by themselves."_

 _"Also, we're stuck together!" Epiphany said brightly, "It's like we're a mom and a dad!"_

 _"Yeah, pretty convenient..." Said Sirius with an irk._

 _"Hey, I know how to take care of babies!" Epiphany seemed to have taken an offence from Sirius' response._

 _"Epi, you can't even cook porridge right..." The host reminded her._

 _"Then I won't cook!" Epi crossed her arms, "I'll just give the baby milk whenever it's hungry!"_

 _"But you can't..." Sirius stopped halfway when he realized his ghost half was leaning closer to his face with a rather scowled expression. As if challenged by a tiger to finish his sentence._

 _"Can't what?" Epiphany growled, leaning even closer._

 _Realizing his mistake for opening his mouth, Sirius reached down towards the questionnaire box with his eyes still averted away, "L-let's just move on."_

 **[To everyone: its karaoke night what are you singing?]**

 _"Oh, uhhh, I'll just skip my turn," Sirius simply said._

 _"I know what I'm gonna sing," Epiphany puffed her chest, "Something Bad by Carrie Underwood!"_

 _"Good for you," Sirius half praised._

 _"What about you? I thought you knew the lyrics to Singing in the Rain?"_

 _He scratched the back of his head in uncertainty, "Yeah but I can't really... Sing... A-and I keep stuttering in front of a crowd, so..."_

 _Epiphany dismissed his reply and went towards the next question, "Well, that's too bad."_

 **[To all: who is going to drink bottles of ipecac on the table and go the longest without vomiting?]**

 _"I can eat and drink anything and still be fine," Epiphany responded in one breath before throwing the questionnaire paper to the air, "Stupid question. Next!"_

 **[To anyone that wants to answer: If you could have any other quirk in your class, which one would you have?]**

 _"Having superb hearing is pretty neat," Sirius said, "Helps with cars."_

 _"I don't know. If I had Mel's power, I would be like a genuine ghost, right?" Epiphany questioned while flailing her hands, seemingly gesturing how Melody would activate her powers with her hands._

 _"Yeah, I can't recall any ghost like you before," Sirius chuckled lightly._

 _"Eh. I mean, this body has its traits," Epiphany shrugged, "I mean, by only projecting the top of my body into the physical world, I can float like this!"_

 _In an instant, her lower body became misty, almost as if dissolving into a fog, before the top floated several centimeters into the air. She opened her arms as a way to present her ability braggingly, before plopping down to the stool as her legs misted back into form._

 _"Other than that, I guess having MacPherson's powers is pretty nice," She added, "Imagine that! Fiery ghost... Kinda like that goddess in Moana."_

 **[To everyone: in a parallel world if you were a villain what would your villain name be?]**

 _"Bonnie and Clyde isn't necessarily a hero name, either..." Sirius said as he finished reading the question, "I picked it because it sounded cool."_

 _"It is cool! I mean, when else can you be a hero based off of the most badass woman in history?!" Epiphany flamboyantly said, mimicking the sound of machine guns and pistols to an invisible opponent._

 _"If we're Bonnie and Clyde in this world... Then should we be Romeo and Juliet in the villain world?" Sirius awkwardly asked._

 _"Don't sound villain-y enough..." Epiphany mused, "Anne Bonny and Mary Read?"_

 _"I'm not a girl," Sirius rejected, "And besides, it's not like people wouldn't call me something based on my Quirk like... The Necromancer or something."_

 _"That's not fair, I want to be called something evil too!" Epiphany cried._

 _"I hardly think it matters..." Sirius said before moving on to another question_.

 **[To everyone: have you had your first kiss yet?]**

 _"Yes!"_

 _"No!" Sirius immediately interjected his ghost half. Preventing her to say anything he did not approve._

 **[To Epiphany: are affected by crosses or holy water?]**

 _"Bub, I think you got me confused for a demon or something," Epiphany shook her head in exasperation, before throwing the questionnaire paper over her shoulder._

 _Sirius then had his hands reach down into the box again before realizing that the contents have all been taken out and discussed. All except for one writing burned into the base on the inside of the box._

 _"Oh! Would you look at that," Sirius clicked his tongue, bringing up the box up to his chin for the viewers to see._

 _With the angle pointed directly at him, and the box turned to its side for the camera to view its contents, it was now revealed that there was a set of words burned neatly into the wood. A sentence saying "Thank you for participating in the Q &A!" could be seen._

 _"That's nice for the author to write that," Sirius commented, bringing down the box before showing it to Epiphany._

 _"Well, then, that's all from the Two-Bit Heroes," the ghost girl smiled at the camera, "I'm Bonnie."_

 _"Oh, we're not using our real names now?" Sirius asked._

 _Epiphany only made a slight smirk, "Come on! Don't be so Sirius!"_

 _The boy in question only blinked twice before chuckling again and shaking his head in mild disbelief, "And I'm… Clyde."_

 _"And this has been…the Q &A corner!" Epiphany cried out with exaggerated gestures, "Yaaaaay!"_

 _"Yaaay…" Sirius awkwardly mimicked._


	37. Chapter 36: Alpha

"You want to what?" Sirius cried. Clara scowled at him as she practically threw herself down onto a bench. Whatever Sirius had been expecting the girl to do after the previous hour of training – which ended when she forcefully dragged him back to the most secluded corner of the preparation room – had been completely flipped on its head. Clara was silent for a moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts, and then reluctantly elaborated.

"Make Pussy Wolf lose control. Been a while since we've seen him go all out and even then he just ended up surrendering to Abrams. It pisses me off that he's so hesitant to use his Quirk, so I'm going to force him to."

"Didn't he say he could go on a rampage if he ever loses control?" Epiphany asked, looking annoyed but nowhere near as panicked as her host. Clara huffed impatiently and crossed her arms.

"That's kinda the whole point," Seeing the ghost's inquisitive expression, she growled impatiently, "Fine, then. Reason number one for wanting that idiot to lose control is because I want a good fight. That moron's one of the strongest in our year but if he wasn't such a damned coward he could easily be the strongest in the whole damned school. Then maybe I could have an actual head-to-head fight with someone without having to worry about them pulling some bullshit like MacAllister and Wolfbane. Which leads me into reason two: I cannot tell you how much I hate to watch Mondronen fight. It's just as painful to me as watching you trip over your own feet."

"That's unnecessary," Sirius said, pouting. Clara ignored him and leaned back against the cool metal table. She remembered watching each and every one of Narruk's matches, from the labyrinth to his victory in round one, there was always something about his fighting style that bugged her.

"You can be somewhat intelligent at times," the magenta-haired girl said suddenly, her eyes locked onto Sirius whose expression turned deadpan. ' _That might be the nicest thing she's ever said to me.'_

"Thanks," Again, acting as if he hadn't said anything, Clara started speaking once again.

"What have you noticed about his techniques and fighting style?" Sirius frowned and perused his memory, only for his thoughts to be cut short as Epiphany – who'd taken to sitting on the table behind him and resting her crossed arms on the top of his head – spoke up, much to his surprise.

"Pretty perfect all around. He uses a ton of different fighting styles from mixed martial arts to some judo moves. Obviously has had a lot of practice," She said. While it was one of the few times, the two girls had actually interacted without insulting one another. Sirius couldn't help but to detect the slightest bit of annoyance in his partner's voice, as well as the surprised raise of an eyebrow from Clara.

"And? What else?" When Epiphany and Sirius did not respond, Clara nodded as if she'd been expecting as much, "He's a good fighter but he lacks – or maybe 'suppresses' is the better term – his most basic survival instincts. For someone with as reflexes as good as his, he should not be having so many close calls against those who are clearly beneath him. The fact that he took even a single hit against those two from the other class tells me that he's holding back, most likely due to his Quirk."

"Why does any of this matter?" Epiphany inquired, shifting her weight slightly and causing Sirius to whimper as she continued to press down on his head.

"Imagine he doesn't overcome this issue and he does become a Pro, how long would it take for his inability to use his Quirk leads to a Villain overpowering him? How long before one destroys a city due to his incompetence?" Clara asked, receiving no response other than a slightly stunned look from Sirius, "How long until someone loses their life?"

"It almost sounds like you want to help him. Are you feeling alright?" Epiphany asked, sitting up straight and staring at Clara with a mix of confusion and amusement. Sirius, though relieved to be freed from the extra weight from his partner pressing down on his skull, quickly hushed her and prepared to cover his ears at the impending outburst from their volatile teammate. However, it never came. Instead, Clara just scowled and glanced towards the nearest television, which was counting down the time until their match.

"Two weeks after we finish this tournament we're being sent into the field for the first time as sidekicks to our upperclassmen. It won't be some exercise where we can just stop when something bad happens. We'll be right in the thick of things."

"Aren't we only supposed to be observing? Mr. Holl said we aren't actually supposed to engage any Villains, we're supposed to report it to any nearby Pro Heroes," Sirius pointed out, though Clara quickly waved this away.

"How often in this world do things go exactly as anyone says they will?" She countered. Sirius shut up at this, unable to dispute her argument when proof to the contrary was sitting just behind him, "That idiot has two weeks to get this shit under control before he starts putting everyone at risk."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Did we get him?" Sirius asked hopefully as Epiphany backed away from the freshly formed sphere of jagged, interlocked splinters of wood. The redhead frowned and shrugged her shoulders in response. ' _I hate to think we did all that training with Clara for nothing but I'd much rather get this over with. She's going to need help if her plan succeeds… though, I'm still not sure I want it to,'_ Sirius thought as he jogged forward and came to a stop beside his partner. Suddenly, the air around them shot up ten degrees and a bright light began to emanate from within the wooden sphere.

"Supernova!" Kenny roared as his entire body flared out and turned his prison to cinders. Epiphany swore and just barely managed to get in front of Sirius to block the brunt of the blast before it hit, even then it wasn't enough to fully prevent damage as her back and legs felt as if they were burning. In an instant it was over, the light and heat petering out just as quickly as it had blazed to life. Epiphany let go of her host and pushed him away right as Kenny sent another, much weaker, blast of solar energy in their direction.

"Go! Get some distance!" Her order was quickly followed by Sirius who sprinted off a little ways away. She glanced around as Kenny recharged, looking for even the smallest intact piece of wood to use. She found nothing but charcoal which, unfortunately, was useless to her. Epiphany swore under her breath and, deciding to take a page out of Clara's book, charged headlong at her enemy. When he realized her plan, Kenny narrowed his eyes and fired off another blast of energy, which slowed her down enough to allow him to get some distance. ' _Just gotta keep her out of arm's reach. Without her weapon, she can't touch me and there's no wood left for her to use. Then again, I can't touch her. I need to find a way to get to Sirius. He's the key to all of this. Once I take him out I can join Narruk to make quick work of Clara,'_ the boy thought.

"Solar Winds!" Kenny bellowed and released a barrage of smaller, quicker beams of light from his glowing body. Seeing through his plan, Epiphany ignored his initial attack and leaped to the defense of Sirius, who'd been the primary target of the widespread attack.

"That won't work! I've been protecting this useless moron for years now!"

"Hey!"

"Shut up and hide somewhere! You're his target!" Epiphany snapped before once again sprinting directly at Kenny, whose body glowed a muted yellow as he prepared another assault. Sirius sighed and glanced around at the lush, rolling green hills that made up the battlefield. ' _Where am I supposed to hide when everything is out in the open? Besides, as much as I hate to admit it… we should be using Clara's plan. Charging at him like a neanderthal isn't going to get us anywhere. I've gotta think. Wait… that could work… hopefully. Oh, man… if this loses us the match I'm never going to hear the end of it from either of them.'_

"Solar Flare!" Epiphany closed her eyes, trying to avoid being completely blinded like before, and flailed her arm out wildly, trying to connect with her foe. As with her last dozen attempts, she was way off and had to wait for the spots in her vision to disappear before trying again. For as little as the boy could do to physically harm her, he was doing a damn good job taking away her eyesight and forcing her into more and more wild, poorly aimed attacks. Her increasing annoyance at the boy's cheap tactics certainly wasn't helping matters in the slightest. Epiphany could only hope that her enemy would make a mistake and she'd have a chance to capitalize on it.

For a normal person, such a strategy would have surely lead to an embarrassing defeat but when one couldn't be touched by their enemy's attacks it turned into a winning formula. As long as Sirius stayed out of the way she could outlast her adversary easily and take him down when he grew tired, even though the process was more than a minor pain in the ass. Her vision had just cleared up enough to the point where she could begin her next assault when her opening presented herself, though not in the way she'd have originally thought. As he had been backing up to put space between them, Kenny had suddenly lurched backward and fallen to the soft soil below. To both of their shock and seemingly coming out of nowhere, there was Sirius. It took Epiphany a second to realize that he'd _tripped_ Kenny. She didn't have time to appreciate the irony of Sirius tripping anyone before her host threw something at her. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Solar Flare!" Kenny roared as he surged to his feet and fired another blast of heat and light at Sirius, who, in a display of uncharacteristic athleticism, jumped completely out of the way of the attack and was back on his feet in time to dodge the next attack. Not wanting to be the victim of a surprise attack from the rear, Kenny whipped around to face Epiphany and his eyes widened in shock. Sharp tendrils of wood raced through the air and impaled themselves in each of his shoulders, knocking him off his feet. As his body began to heat up, more tendrils of wood shot out of the ground like geysers and wrapped tightly around his arms, legs, and neck. He cried out in surprise and glanced up at his attacker. Epiphany grinned as she held up the severed double-headed ax blade that had once been _Fenrir._ ' _She used the wood from the shaft. When did-? No matter, another Supernova should fix this.'_

"Solar has been 'captured', therefore he is disqualified!" Ms. Whittaker announced to the crowd – her voice shaking slightly. Shocked and confused, Kenny glanced down at his bonds and sighed in defeat when he saw the white string fused with the wood that had wrapped around his left arm. Before she could revel in their successful plan (she really had to hand it to Sirius and his oft-overlooked cleverness), the same boy called out to her in panic and pointed towards the other end of the stadium. Once she saw what he was gesturing to, a shiver went down her spine.

"What the hell?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Don't get distracted, moron! Howl Knuckle!"

"Shit!"

" _Narruk?"_ At the sound of _her_ voice, Narruk's eyes snapped open but saw nothing but an endless black void. Immediately, a feeling of familiar dread washed over him and he spun around, trying to get his bearings.

"Thalia?" He didn't recognize his own voice. It was much too weak, too fragile. Then… sound began rushing back to him. The roar of the crowd, the labored breaths of his enemy, and his own feral growling. Sight also slowly returned. The sunlight burned his nocturnal eyes, which, with the unbearable noise of the crowd, only served as fuel for the rage building within him. He pushed the feeling aside and focused on the girl in front of him. She was beaten up but he quickly deduced that the damage had come from their previous fight.

He almost sighed in relief before he realized he had taken a step towards her. He also realized that his throat still hummed with an animalistic growl. He tried to speak but no words came out. He tried to back away but his body didn't listen. He could only watch as Clara, apparently fed up with the pause to their battle, surged forward and tried to slug him, only to have her hand caught in his own. ' _Run away!'_ he wanted to shout at her, but the girl only grinned and sucked in a deep breath. Her 'Howl' in such close proximity nearly shattered his eardrums. The shout quickly turned to a pained grunt as the already broken bones in her hand (Narruk vaguely wondered how that had happened) cracked and shattered.

' _This can't be happening. How could I let myself lose control?'_ He thought, panicking as he threw Clara through the air with such force. She dug a small trench in the dirt when she landed. ' _Stop it! Alpha!'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"What's going on? His fighting style seems different from before," Nathan observed, enraptured by the fight on the screen above them. Just as he'd been ready to reluctantly praise Narruk's fighting style, the guy had done a complete one-eighty and was barraging the screaming girl with no apparent strategy or motive. When he received no answer, he glanced over at his partner and a pit of dread formed in his stomach. Melody's face was as pale as snow and her body trembled violently, "Mel? What's happening? You okay?"

"They have to stop the fight," She answered simply, her voice shaking as badly as her body. Nathan had never seen her like this before; in all the time they'd known each other, Melody had always been the type to keep her negative emotions to herself and that especially included fear. Whether it was a particularly bad storm when they were kids or the time their fifth-grade classmate had made a paper mache volcano for science class, she'd always kept her composure under control until they were alone and even then he was sure there had been dozens of times where she'd managed to deceive not only him but her father and kept her emotions to herself.

"Come on, we can use the prep tunnel," He said, without hesitation in his voice. Despite her apparent need to get into the field, it took a moment to get the redhead moving; her eyes never leaving the television screen. As the pair sprinted through the underground room, ignoring the calls of their classmates, Nathan spoke again, "Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Clara made Narruk lose control. That's not Narruk out there… it's Alpha."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Damn. Guess it worked, then?" Clara said bitterly as she got to her feet, her broken hand and back aching from their respective traumas. Before her, Narruk's amber eyes glowed even in the mid-afternoon light, and his body seemed to be growing. He stood nearly four inches taller than he had at the beginning of their fight and that was nothing compared to the visibly significant growth on the muscles in his arms and legs. ' _Somewhat worked. He's still fighting back. That's fine, my message is getting across_ and _I get a good fight. This is going better than I'd have thought.'_ The magenta-haired girl grinned maniacally and sucked in a breath, "Howl Missile!"

The feral Narruk whined and crouched down, trying to make itself smaller, as the soundwaves assaulted it. However, Clara's satisfaction quickly evaporated the moment her attack ended, as her opponent charged at her with blinding speed. There was no strategy or technique behind his overhead haymaker, Clara observed. His attacks became stronger but easier to read. Unfortunately, this did not make the battle any easier because, while his offense was brutal yet predictable, his defense was impenetrable. Every time she attempted to counterattack, he would easily dodge and dive right back into his assault.

To make matters worse, his energy was boundless. Even as the battle dragged on, Narruk's power and speed never wavered. In the end, it only took one misstep – caused by his opponent's exhaustion – for the feral lycanthrope to gain the upper hand. He roared in triumph as he latched on to Clara's arm and threw her backwards. In the split second it took for her to regain her footing, Narruk closed the distance. With the force of a speeding car, he slammed into her with his full body weight, driving her into the stone wall of the arena. The girl roared in pain as Narruk repeated the motion, pulling her slightly off the wall and slamming her back into it with enough force to crack the reinforced barricade. Now bleeding profusely from her left arm and the shaved side of her head matted with the red substance, Clara glared up at her assailant and grinned. "That… all you got, Pussy Wolf?"

Apparently not impressed by her taunting – though, in his current state, Clara could reasonably assume that just the sound of her voice was enough to set him off and not her specific insults – the brunette swiped at her head with a wild haymaker. Just as she had dozens of times before, she dodged his poorly aimed attack, which instead connected with a large chunk of the wall, and shattered it beside her head. In the short instant, before he could recover and try to hit her again, Clara jabbed upward and caught Narruk directly in his Adam's apple. His constant growling was interrupted by a sound caught somewhere between a gurgle and a strained howl.

To her surprise, the now seven-foot-tall and even hairier than usual Narruk wasn't slowed down by her dirty tactics. Instead, it only seemed to fuel his rage. Before she could react, he'd grabbed her by her own throat and lifted her up into the air. Instinctively, she struggled and fought back against him but his grip was like an iron vice around her windpipe. When she delivered a steel-toed kick to his chin, his hold only tightened, making it even harder for her to breathe. "Get… yourself… under… control… moron," She choked out. Narruk's eyes gleamed with malicious intent as he drew back his free hand. With no hope of dodging it this time, Clara simply stared defiantly into his glowing amber eyes and awaited a blow that would never come.

There was a flash of red somewhere to their right, near the entrance to the arena, and then a familiar voice called out, staying the beast's hand. "Narruk! Fight back, don't let him take full control!" The beast's eyes locked on to Melody and, if possible, his growling became more incensed. Clara fell to the ground gasping and holding her bruised throat as Narruk dropped her and turned towards the tunnel. With superhuman speed, the boy flung himself at Melody and slammed into the iron bars, causing the only barrier between the two to bend dangerously inward. Nathan hissed and his fingernails grew into razor-sharp claws as he forced himself in front of his childhood friend. "Stop this Narruk! You can take back control! Just stop!"

"Stay back, Mel!" Nathan ordered urgently, though to his surprise neither the beast nor Melody made any more attempts to move towards one another. If he were being honest, he was half-expecting the redhead to push past him and get right within biting distance to talk some sense into her new friend, but he was more than elated when instead the two apparently agreed to keep their distance. Suddenly, Narruk's body twitched and then began one of the most disturbing events of Nathan's life. Narruk clawed, bit, and attacked his own body with any method he could manage. Very soon, the emerald green grass of the hills had been splashed with blood. In the middle of all of this, Elvira Whittaker surged forward and pointed all eight of her fingers at the rampaging student. The self-inflicted bloodshed ceased as strong ropes extended from her fingertips and wrapped tightly around the boy. He struggled for only a moment before his body went slack and he slumped over, the hair covering his arms and face receding and his bones shrinking back to their normal size.

 _The Forge's History Teacher: Elvira Whittaker_

 _Hero Name: Roundup_

 _Quirk: Hemp_

 _Elvira can create and control strong hemp-based rope from the tips of her fingers and toes. These ropes can be cut off, burned, or otherwise destroyed but they will grow back in about three weeks._

"That's it! No more of that. This battle's over, Alpha and Solar are both unable to continue. Elisnore, Clyde, and Bonnie are the winners," she announced, though her usual peppy tone had been replaced with a grimmer and more worried one. From within his bonds, Narruk glanced upwards, his vision foggy, and stared directly at Melody in despair.

"Thalia?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Clara!" Sirius cried as he ran over to his fallen teammate. Even at a distance, he could tell she was in bad shape. There was blood matting whatever hair she had left on her head and her left arm was twisted at an odd angle. Still, the hateful fire that usually burned in her eyes hadn't diminished. If anything, it had grown exponentially as she braced her right arm against the wall and attempted to stand. "Stop! You'll only hurt yourself worse!"

"Piss off, Sirius. I'm…" He assumed she'd been about to say 'I'm fine, pissant' but with her sudden collapse face-first into the dirt, Sirius couldn't be sure. He watched in dismay as a pretty brunette girl – probably just a few years older than himself – raced over to them and crouched down over his teammate. A soft, green light began to shine from the girl's hands and, to Sirius' shock, the large gash on Clara's head began to stitch itself closed.

"Woah," he murmured. The girl, as if suddenly realizing he was there, glanced over her shoulder and sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness you're here," Sirius blushed slightly and turned his eyes away from the girl. His embarrassment only increased when it became apparent that she wasn't talking to him but to the two small troll-like creatures that materialized beside him with a paper-white stretcher held between them. Even when they rolled the much larger, and much heavier Clara onto the stretcher, they picked it up with ease and rushed off beside the nurse, leaving Sirius alone… or as alone as Sirius ever was.

" _Smooth, casanova,"_ Epiphany's voice echoed in his head, sounding very annoyed. Sirius flushed red again and began to feel very awkward just standing in the middle of the field all by himself in front of probably a hundred thousand people. With an undignified squeak, he escaped into the tunnel the girl and the trolls had gone down, which he knew from their last visit – less than two hours earlier – lead directly to the medical center.

Meanwhile, Nathan had to physically restrain Melody from chasing after the two men who carried away a broken and battered Narruk, "Oi, calm down, Mel!"

"I have to see if he's okay. You've no idea what this episode is going to do to him. All the time we've spent the past few weeks trying to keep it under wraps means nothing now," She pleaded. Against his better judgment, Nathan wanted nothing more than to let the girl go and run off before forfeiting their match. He hated seeing her this upset. Fortunately, his more rational side prevailed.

"We can go see him after our match. I think you dropping out of the tournament just to go see him would just make him feel even worse. Best we can do is win our match quickly and then go check on him… and the angry one," He said gently, surprised when the redhead actually appeared deflated and leaned heavily against the wall of the tunnel.

"You're right. We'll end our fight quickly and then go do some damage control. I just hope Narruk's okay."

"I really wish I had a tape recorder. You _never_ admit when I'm right."

"Because you _never_ are!"

"But you just said I was."

"Hush up, Furball."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Uhhhh, heeey guys. Remember when this story was a weekly upload? Yeah… good times. So, it's been a while and I apologize for that but real life is the fanfic author's kryptonite. Between a lack of motivation/crisis of confidence in my writing and a new GM making everyone's lives difficult at my job, as well as being sick for about a week to start the New Year and… I'm gonna stop. I've given enough excuses. Anyway, one of my New Year's resolutions is to write more so let's see how that goes. *Checks last upload* Ah, well nevertheless the rest of this year I plan to write more and even start a second story (more on that in a minute) so if I haven't uploaded in a week, please… SPAM MY FUCKING INBOX UNTIL I UPDATE.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter this year. Narruk losing control and going loco on Clara. Pretty cool stuff that won't be explained for *checks notes* at least two arcs from now! Uh, yeah I don't know if I've said it enough to get the point across (and I've had quite a few people in my PMs that seemed confused) but this fic is absolutely nowhere near complete. We are currently sitting not even at the halfway point for PART 1 OF 3! Ambition is my fatal flaw.**

 **OH! Speaking of fatal flaws, the second story I mentioned above. It's early in the planning process and… you guessed it! It's NOT the Pokemon story you guys all voted for last year. Yeah sorry, my plans for that bastard just never got off the ground. Instead, recently I've been listening to the audiobooks and they've reminded me just how much I loved this source material so… without further ado… my second story (which will run alongside PoaH but is lower on the ladder) shall be…** _ **drumroll**_

 **An Unnamed Percy Jackson and the Olympians SYOC!**

 **Yeah, obviously still early in development but this will once again be an SYOC simply because I've had so much fun seeing what you guys can come up with. The first chapter will go up… soon-ish. I know what I wanna do, but… well I've just gotta put pen to paper and you guys know by now how difficult I find that.**

 **Alright, that's enough out of Mr. ShittyAuthorMan. I hope you all are having a wonderful start to the new year and let's get to that preview!**

 **Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero**

 **Chapter 37: Undeniable Advantage**

 **And Finally, a short Q &A with everyone's favorite Angry Girl (Did you really expect her to stick around for the interview? XD)**

 **Q: Do you have sensory overload protection, at least when it comes to hearing? If you have augmented hearing, that wouldn't pair well with loud noises, unless there was a system in place that protected against that.**

 **A: I have both, dumbass. I have enhanced hearing like my old man, enough to utilize echolocation, but both our inner ears and earbones are specialized. They basically 'seize up' and diffuse any vibrations generated from within our bodies, which stops them from rupturing whenever we yell.**

 **Q: Who do you like the most in the class? Who do you like the least?**

 **A: Hmm, at best…. I tolerate Melody the most. Even though she's that crying c**t's kid, she's done enough to at least earn my respect. Everyone else gets on my nerves some way or another.**

 **...If you tell her I said that, I guarantee nobody will find your body.**

 **Q: can you sing opera?**

 **A:... Yes, you think I couldn't use these pipes for anything but fighting? Keep dreaming I have an angel's voice.**

 **Q: things you respect about your dad?**

 **A: The only thing I respect about him is that he somehow made it to the Top 5 without anybody airing out his dirty laundry.**

 **Q: If you could do one thing to one person, provided it is non-violent, what would it be?**

 **A: None of the losers in my class are worth my time unless it's to kick their ass, so I'd probably ignore them all.**


	38. Chapter 37: Undeniable Advantage

" _This battle's over, Alpha and Solar are both unable to continue. Elisnore, Clyde, and Bonnie are the winners."_ Even over the grainy audio of old computer speakers, the difference in the crowd's cheers after this announcement as opposed to all those that came before it was startlingly clear. Even miles away and through an old laptop, the difference could be felt.

"Oh my, he _is_ a treat. Wild and uncontrollable. I can see now why he's my mission." A woman with powder blue hair sat in a dark room with a wide, devilish smile on her narrow face, illuminated only by the faint glow of the computer screen that was laid in front of her. The video on-screen was frozen on an image of a young man, covered in fur and blood, looking towards the camera with frightened eyes full of despair. The woman leaned back in her chair and giggled to herself, her brown eyes locked on to the boy's image. "I can't _wait_ to get my threads wrapped around him. I'll make him into such a wonderful, feral marionette. Soon, my precious."

"M'lady?" A new voice asked as the room's door slid open, allowing just the faintest slice of light to leak into the room. Standing in the doorway were two individuals, a very petite girl with red, diamond-shaped eyes and a man standing about average height and holding an orange in his left hand.

"Doll, Sandman… look. He's everything Vesuvius' spy told us he'd be. Oh, if she were here I'd kiss her. Being able to recruit a student is so~ much better than having to rely on that sentimental idiot Holl for information. Don't you worry, my friends. Our time is coming. That brute Spitfire may have introduced the Black Order to the world but we get the honor of being the first to meet the next generation," the woman stated, her voice dripping with glee. The newcomers' reactions were mixed, to say the least.

The girl, Roneve, grinned just as maniacally as her master and raised her head to look at the drab gray ceiling to proclaim: "Does this please you, O' Goddess of Despair? We're servants to your will!" She cried, outstretching her arms.

 **Doll Master**

 **Black Ops Division: Rank Four**

Beside her, the man's expression turned pained for a moment as he glanced at the young man on the screen with pity in his eyes, then his face hardened and he seemed to slip into silent contemplation. While he hadn't been as easy to coerce into their ranks as Doll Master, the former kingpin was perhaps her best subordinate. Intelligent, useful, and always challenging her decisions – his apparent fearlessness was an attribute she really admired. Clearly having gathered his thoughts and come to a decision he glanced up at the blue-haired woman with steely eyes. "If this is what it takes to dismantle this society of Heroes, I'll do whatever it takes."

 **Sandman**

 **Black Ops Division: Rank Three**

Seemingly pleased with both of their answers, as different as they were, the blue-haired woman turned back to staring at the screen with a fond look in her eye as she caressed the image of Narruk Mondronen.

"I'll be coming for you soon, my puppet."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Get me the fuck out of this hospital or I will rip it _apart_ ," Clara snarled at her nurse. With a sigh, Leena Holl stood up from her chair and frowned down at the girl.

"There is such a thing as too headstrong. No matter what you say, you're in bad shape. If you want to be in fighting shape for the next round tomorrow, I suggest you lie back down and let me and my assistants get back to work," the pink-haired woman spoke calmly. Her words appeared to have at least some impact on her patient because Clara, instead of tearing the place apart, grunted angrily and leaned back against the cot's metal frame. Leena's tense posture relaxed and she went back to work stitching up a rather deep gash on the girl's leg. Silence, other than pained groans and cries from the twenty or so other students inhabiting the hospital room, reined over the two for several minutes until the privacy curtain rippled and the one face Clara really didn't want to see appeared with his usual grin.

"My, my, you're becoming what they call a 'regular' around here aren't you, Angry Girl?" Just the sound of his voice caused Clara to grind her teeth and try to stand once again, this time to forcibly expel him from the room. Instead, a ripple of pain flared in her chest and she fell back coughing violently. Leena exhaled and stood, grabbing her medical bag as she did so. As she began to make her way towards the opening in the curtain where Lyon stood, she turned back and gave Clara a warning look.

"You're patched up about as well as I could manage. I'll have Sophia come in after dinner and give you another treatment with her Quirk, but I believe you will have to stay overnight if you want to be ready for tomorrow's final eight." At her patient's grunt of acknowledgment, she then turned to Lyon. "I'm heading over to help out Miss Ena again. Don't you dare rile her up too much or you'll find yourself in one of these beds before you can say 'Forge'."

"Understood. Though I promise nothing. I don't particularly understand why but it seems my presence aggravates her," Lyon explained, his tone betraying that he found this concept slightly amusing, which seemed somewhat odd to Leena and outright infuriating to Clara. After giving her patient one more warning look, the school nurse ducked out of the curtained off area, leaving the two alone. As soon as she was sure Leena was outside of earshot, Clara growled and chucked her pillow as hard as she could at the smiling teen's head, scoring a direct hit. However, as it was just a pillow, it fell to the ground and only seemed to fuel Lyon's amusement. "Someone's testy, and after I went out of my way to come and visit you."

"Bullshit. You're only here because you want to provoke a reaction," Clara snapped as she leaned back against the monotone gray wall. Lyon simply shrugged and took over Nurse Holl's chair, though he made sure to drag it outside of the girl's kicking range.

"I admit, I do enjoy seeing the different facets of our class. Andrew's tenacity, Melody's resolve, your stubbornness. Nevertheless, today you seemed to have pushed that stubbornness over the line into pure stupidity, wouldn't you agree?" While his face was still split by that ever-present smile, his eyes were hard and although she'd never seen him glare at anyone in the short time they'd known each other, Clara could tell this was his equivalent. "Well, regardless today was a wonderful insight into your true character. Who would have thought you'd be more than 'angry screaming and daddy issues', as Lyle puts it."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Fire Idiot?"

"As misguided as it was, I'm assuming that you did what you did to try and help Narruk. You see him as weak and dangerous as he is now, with minimal control over his Quirk and sought to help him in the only way you could. That being said, you may have done significant damage to both his confidence and mental state with your actions today." Clara answered by snorting and folding her arms behind her head.

"You've lost your marbles, haven't you? The only reason I tried to get him to use his Quirk is that I wanted a good fight with a strong opponent. He was a bit stronger than I anticipated, I admit, but in the end, I still won, didn't I?" Clara replied haughtily. Lyon chuckled at this and motioned with his hand to her heavily bandaged body and the clearly visible black bruises that covered much of her exposed skin.

"But at what cost? Isn't the essence of a Hero to give up your own well-being to help others?"

"Tch, now you really sound like Halloway. Dumbass, actual heroes require strength. The strength to beat anyone that breaks the law. Today was just two fighters throwing everything they had at one another. 'Sought to help him in the only way you could', my ass," she mocked, turning over to her side – trying to hide a grunt of pain as she did so – and facing the opposite wall. Taking this as a sign their short conversation was at its end, Lyon stood and flexed the broken tips of his fingers.

"Well, I really must be going. My match is coming sooner than both Andi and I would like and I could use the rest to recover from my bout with Andrew. I'm glad you made it to the next round Clara, I really can't wait for the opportunity to face off against you again so make sure that you keep winning until we meet." And with that, the firestarter exited the curtained room and his footsteps gradually faded until they were swallowed up by the ambient noise of the room. The moment he was gone, Clara sat back up and grit her teeth, both in pain and thinly veiled anger.

"Damn fool, who the hell does he think he's talking to?"

"Aw, so you do care. I knew you were a big softy." At the sound of her least favorite ghost girl – the past week had ensured her a spot at the top of the list and kicked Halloway down to second – Clara growled.

"Next time I'm asking for a private room. I'm guessing pissant is on his way as well?" Epiphany, who had taken Lyon's seat, pointed towards where Clara guessed the entrance to the hospital wing was and sure enough, she heard quick falling footsteps approaching. Just when she thought her opinion of her former teammates couldn't get any lower, Sirius burst through the curtain and promptly fell flat on his face. "Nice one, dumbass."

"Clara! You're okay! Well, I mean you're obviously really hurt but you're awake and insulting me so that means it isn't as bad as I thought. Narruk really messed you up out there," Sirius said, his voice filled with relief.

"What the hell are you doing here? You know the next round is one versus one, we aren't partners anymore." Sirius had the gall to look offended by this, while Epiphany seemed almost elated by the idea.

"Well… I was, um, worried. I knew Narruk was strong and stuff in his wolf form but that was unbelievable. You could have been really badly hurt. And besides, the final eight doesn't start until tomorrow so we're technically still partners," he protested. Clara glared at him for another moment before she sighed and tried to rub the weariness from her eyes. ' _Holl did say her Quirk affected your energy by how much pain it's blocking out. These injuries better be fixed by tomorrow or I'm gonna lose it,'_ she thought. It took her a moment to realize that the incessant buzzing in her ears was really just her partner continuing to prattle on about her fight against Narruk. "–lly tough. I don't know how you managed to fight back, let alone land some attacks. Our fight with Kenny was nowhere near as intense… or scary."

"Our last minute training was nearly wasted I noticed," Clara remarked, her tone sharp. Sirius froze and snapped his mouth shut, looking at his partner like a deer caught in a car's headlights. "You both got cocky and let the idiot escape. Never turn your back on an opponent until you know the battle is won, or it _will_ burn you."

"Yeah, you're right," Sirius said dejectedly.

"Sirius? No one's ever broken out of that attack… except for Melody but she cheats. Not our fault we didn't expect it," Epiphany said, throwing a scalding glare at Clara. In response, the Howl Quirk user shook her head and scowled.

"And that's why you almost lost. If pissant hadn't used his actual fucking brain for once and grabbed Narruk's ax handle, we'd have lost. It was obvious you had your hands full. If you'd let up even a little for just a fraction of a second Phillips would have attacked Sirius and that would have been the end of it. It took him attacking his opponent head-on for once to actually make a difference in the battle. Thanks to the fact that Narruk knocked himself out, that could have been the turning point of the whole fight," Clara explained. For a moment, Sirius just stared blankly at her until understanding overtook his expression and a grin split his face.

"You just complimented me."

"Don't get used to it pissant. For every smart thing you did in that battle you did ten things wrong," Clara shot back, though it didn't dispel her teammate's smile. She glanced at the pair for a moment and then growled. "Both of you piss off, I'm going to bed."

"Wait till we tell everyone Clara _can_ say something nice," Epiphany taunted as she and Sirius were leaving.

"Go ahead, who'd ever believe a clumsy little shit or a knock off Halloway?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Come on, Mel! You gotta stop being so uptight," Nathan whined as he flung his arm over the redhead's shoulder. He was quickly shoved away and given a familiar glare from Melody.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I couldn't be worried while one of my friends is grievously injured," she shot back sarcastically. Nathan let out a dramatic cry and leaned back against the cool cement wall of the preparation tunnel. After a moment of his pouting, Melody groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Sorry, Nathan."

"I suppose it's okay. I'm used to your snappy retorts by now, as unoriginal as they may be," the feline responded cheekily before his expression turned serious. "I know you're worried but Narruk's in literally the best care on the East Coast. The Forge just doesn't hire any old doctor to be their nurse, Mrs. Holl is like, a prodigy in the medical field. He'll probably walk out of there healthier than ever."

"You're right, I know you are but I can't help it. Ugh, and we'd made so much progress. Stupid Clara," Melody grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. Since his near-miss in the relay race, she and Narruk had been trying everything they could think of to help him get better control. Everything from meditation to sparring until he was on the brink but they'd only made very meager progress. ' _And everything we accomplished was completely undone in less than half an hour. Ugh, why did she have to do that?'_

"MEL!" At her friend's irritated shout, Melody was snapped out of her thoughts and stared at him with surprised wide eyes. "Good, now that I have your attention… what's our play?"

"Well, Marcus and Eris don't really have much chemistry and their Quirks are more physically powerful than Benji and Hazel. I think we should stick together for this fight," Melody said, her voice growing steadier as she spoke. "Besides, their teamwork was sloppy in the last round. If we could get them to fight close together, we may get them to trip over each other's feet."

"There's the Mel I know and… tolerate!" Nathan beamed, smacking the girl on her back and receiving a withering look from her as a result. ' _Smooth Nathan… real smooth,'_ the blond thought. Even though he knew that she wouldn't have thought much into it, he couldn't bear to finish that saying with its actual ending lest he die of embarrassment. "So… Plan C, then?"

"What? No! We made Plan C when we were six. There's no way it could work now." Nathan contemplated this for a moment before snapping his fingers in realization.

"I've got it! Plan K!" Melody's expression turned deadpan and she motioned to the battlefield that had been selected for this fight. A miniature shipyard, complete with the facade of a large tanker and artificial waves lapping at the dock's concrete supports. After a moment Nathan sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, you're right. Let's see… Q?"

"This is a friendly competition, Nathan! We can't use lethal force, moron," Melody snapped back. The boy moaned dramatically and hung his head in mock dejection.

"Fine! What about… fuck, I dunno Plan T?"

"Language. Plan T could work, given we play it by the book," she added with a sidelong look at her partner. Nathan scoffed and placed his hands on his hips, giving the girl a scrutinizing glare.

"Are you accusing me of something? I'll have you know I always perfectly follow the script!" He complained, feigning outrage. Instead of responding verbally, Melody simply gave him an unenthused and disbelieving stare. The two locked eyes for a moment before Nathan dropped the act and waved his hand dismissively. "Come on, when have I ever let you down?"

"Do you want that list in chronological or alphabetical order?" Melody responded in an innocent tone of voice as their code names were announced and the iron bars rose. Unlike their last fight, it was Melody who led the pair onto the field. As she stared across the field at her opponents, her goggles began to pick up a weird interference whenever she looked at Marcus. Instead of the vibrant warm hues that her thermal imaging picked up from Eris, Nathan, and the massive crowd of people, Marcus' body was made up of a nearly solid bright orange color. ' _That's odd. These things must still have some technical problems, there's no way his body temperature is that high,'_ Melody thought with a frown. She reached up and switched the infrared off but noticed nothing different between Marcus or his partner. "Remember Nathan, by the book."

"Yeah, yeah I heard you the first time. Let's just get this over with quickly, shall we?" He replied far too flippantly for her liking. As she had expected, the exact moment the fight was officially started, Nathan sprinted off at their enemies, apparently having forgotten the finer points of Plan T which stated quite explicitly to do the opposite of that. The redhead sighed and took off after him, though due to his Quirk's speed he made it across the field in no time. Looking somewhat surprised, Eris raised her hand and pointed it at him. However, Nathan ducked under the sharp black bone spear that protruded from her wrist and raked his claws across her stomach. To his surprise, the fabric around her pelvis tore open and he was nearly impaled on another spear. As he stumbled away he nearly knocked right into Marcus. Before he could react and take a swipe at his new target, some unseen force slammed into him and sent him flying. He landed hard on the damp concrete and slid to a stop near some shipping containers. "The hell?"

"It's his Quirk, he can manipulate, absorb, and release energy… which you'd know if you ever listened when I talked to you," Melody said pointedly as she crouched down next to him and examined the small gash on his shoulder from Eris' second attack while trying to watch their opponents out of the corner of her eye. Nathan flushed slightly and quickly tried to get back to his feet, only to nearly headbutt his teammate in the process. Once he was back upright he gave Melody a sheepish smile.

"Sorry."

"Teamwork is the whole point of Plan T, Furball. Besides, against these two, teamwork will be the deciding factor." Across the field, Marcus grabbed Eris by the hand and dragged her behind a stack of lobster cages – not the best cover but perfect for keeping an eye on their enemies. Next to him, Eris made a noise of triumph as she inspected the four horizontal scratches on her stomach.

"Body armor for the win! Man, I was not expecting the lover boy to be so fast. He even dodged my sneak attack," she said, poking a finger through the newly opened hole right above her hip bone. Marcus fought to control his annoyance at the girl and turned to look back at their classmates, who had apparently also taken cover whilst he was preoccupied.

"The only reason he was able to rush us like that is that you were too enthralled by the crowd." Eris' enthused expression quickly soured and she turned her head away from Marcus to look at the large, metal tanker bobbing in the water not fifty yards from them. The gray-haired boy took this as a sign that he was now being ignored and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. ' _On paper, we should have the advantage here. Our Quirks counter theirs pretty well and neither of them has any sort of ranged attacks. Though…'_ His eyes trailed over and caught the pout on his partner's face. His shoulders slumped slightly as he turned back to look at the shipping container their adversaries were behind. ' _She's going to be the death of me.'_ Suddenly, a chill went down his spine and his head snapped to look over his shoulder just as Nathan slammed a foot into the center of his back. The flimsy lobster cages crumbled under his weight as he fell and he heard a surprised 'eep' from Eris as she brought up her arm to block the feline's next blow. "What the–?"

"Plan T can't possibly fail!" Nathan shouted triumphantly as he brought his heel down towards Marcus' head, only to once again be thrown backward. While his eyes followed the boy as he hit the ground, he caught sight of a clearly winded Melody leaning against a light post for support.

"I never would have been able to phase two people for that long last year. Looks like I've taken my first step towards getting stronger," the redhead muttered as she watched her partner flip back onto his feet and charge in blindly once again. ' _Thanks for buying time, Nathan. Just hold them until I can breathe correctly again.'_ Almost as if he'd heard her thought, the blond continued his boundless assault, switching targets every time either Eris managed to block one of his attacks or he was again thrown back by Marcus.

"Phew, you guys are a pretty good workout, gotta say," Nathan said as he hopped away from Eris' kick, landing just a few feet away from his recovering partner. While he hadn't done too much damage to their opponents, he had at least bought Melody the time she needed. He relaxed his posture slightly and raised an arm to brush away his hair – which always seemed to like trying to obscure his vision – then smiled confidently. "You're looking pretty heated Marcus. Need a breather? Maybe an ice pack?"

"You kidding? That was barely a warm-up," he shot back. Nathan's eyes narrowed and he turned back to look at his partner.

"He _is_ looking kinda red, isn't he? I'm not just seeing things?" Her breathing somewhat stabilized, the redhead rolled her eyes and strode forward to stand next to him. Without giving her a chance to respond, Nathan waved her off and shook his head. "I know, it's his Quirk. I _do_ tend to listen every now and then. Just trying to keep things light."

"You and listening go together about as well as forks and electrical outlets." Feigning offense, Nathan held a hand over his heart and gasped. However, before their banter could continue, a sharpened black bone sliced through the air towards them, leaving the feline just seconds to step out of the way of the attack, one that would have surely left him unable to continue. "Pay attention!"

"Right," he grumbled back. It seemed to him that their foes weren't eager to give them any time to relax. Within seconds of the first bone being shot, Eris followed it up by leaping at Melody with black bone baton about the size of her forearm, Nathan growled and attempted to go to his friend's aide but was stopped by Marcus getting in his way. ' _Seems like they're trying to keep us separate. They must have_ actually _done some strategizing before this… or Marcus is just adapting to his teammate. Either way, Mel can handle Eris easily. No need to worry,'_ Nathan thought as he charged at Marcus and, just like every other one of his attacks during the battle so far, was knocked back and off-balance slightly by an invisible force. Taking advantage of this, the gray-haired teen lunged forward and planted his fist into Nathan's gut, which knocked the wind out of him far easier than it should have. He coughed and stumbled back, barely avoiding the boy's roundhouse kick in the process. ' _That must be what Mel meant when she said he can absorb and release energy. This is gonna be a pain.'_

"I have to admit, I was expecting more from the guy who got third in the entrance exam. Continuously charging when you were buying time for your teammate was understandable, but this is just disappointing," Marcus taunted, though Nathan could detect just the slightest hitch to his breathing.

" _His defense is strong. If we go against him our best chance is your speed or my Wraith. I can negate his attacks and if you can get past his shield we stand a good chance,"_ Melody had said during one of their strategy breaks during training – something Nathan had hated over the past week despite his partner insisting their importance. Taking a deep breath, Nathan cracked his neck and got down onto all fours, looking like he was about to pounce. Sensing a change, Marcus braced himself and the moment Nathan kicked off the ground, he prepared to redirect the attack. What he'd failed to take into account was his foe's drastic rise in agility. Instead of the straight charge he'd been doing, Nathan – still on all fours – darted from side to side and struck Marcus' shield with enough force to make him wince.

The heat was becoming unbearable but his defenses held strong. In an effort to get himself a quick breather, he put a good amount of energy into redirecting another of Nathan's kicks. He'd been so focused on his opponent's legs that he didn't notice his claws until they were raking across his chest. Agony bloomed as the new wounds sizzled and the smell of burning flesh filled Nathan's sensitive nose. As he stumbled away from his foe, he gagged slightly and looked on with wide eyes. The four diagonal scratches – the longest of which only being around three inches – were smoking and the skin surrounding them was an angry red. ' _His wounds… cauterized themselves?'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Come on, Mel! Fight back!" Eris cried, sounding annoyed as she swung her baton at the redhead, who ducked beneath it and stepped out of the way of the immediate follow-up. The brunette was beginning to get frustrated. She'd originally gone after Melody because she'd really like the way she fought against Hazel and the pervy dude from FH2. Unlike that fight, however, Melody seemed very content to stay on the defensive, either dodging or shifting into her Wraith to avoid all of Eris' attacks and it was starting to grate on the girl's nerves. Not to mention that her earlier attacks had left the skin around her wrists bloody and aching. She once again lurched forward with her baton but it passed straight through the pale blue face of Melody's Wraith. "Gah! Stop doing that!"

"Sorry Eris, but I'm not going to _let_ you hit me," the redhead replied dryly, which only served to further annoy her opponent. Seemingly forgetting that her wrists were already a mess, Eris ejected yet another small baton – though this one was not as dense as her other one – and came at Melody with both. The other girl just furrowed her brow and focused on dodging, ignoring Eris' tirade of taunts and challenges. In an attempt to gain some semblance of an advantage, Melody slipped into her Wraith form and, to the shock and disgust of her foe, phased right through Eris before shifting back. The brunette shivered as a deathly chill passed through her and hissed in pain as Melody's foot connected with her shin. However, judging by the girl's pained gasp the attack had hurt her more.

"That's more like it! How'd kicking steel feel?" Eris mocked as she turned to the redhead, who was trying not to put weight on her right foot. Before the girl could react, Eris retaliated with her own kick right to the girl's chest, knocking her back several yards before she hit the ground hard. With not a second to spare, she shifted into her Wraith as her opponent brought down her batons right through her ethereal head. Just then, a blond blur slammed into Eris' side and sent her flailing to the concrete.

"You okay, Mel?" Nathan asked, his expression concerned as he looked down at her. Melody returned to normal and sat up before wincing at the pain in her ankle.

"Fine, just a sprain I think. Doesn't hurt too bad," she said, her eyes drifting over to where Eris was getting to her feet next to Marcus, who despite looking exhausted had a fire in his eyes. After taking another moment to compose herself, she accepted Nathan's hand and got shakily to her feet. "Any ideas on how to end this quickly? Seems like we're all hitting our breaking points."

"What are you talking about? I'm perfectly fine!" Nathan protested though the myriad of fresh bruises poking out from under his costume pointed to the contrary.

"You look like you just got hit by a bus. Come on, there has to be so– Watch it!" Melody said suddenly, pushing Nathan aside as Eris brought down her baton. There was an audible crack as the weapon slammed into Melody's arm and she cried out in pain, though that didn't stop her from once again trying to punch the brunette in the face. While it still probably broke at least one of her fingers, the result was markedly different from kicking her ankle as Eris grunted in pain and stumbled back. From the corner of her eye, Melody watched as Marcus absorbed one of Nathan's punches on his arm, released the energy to knock the feline back and then deliver a hard kick to her partner's solar plexus. "Nathan!"

"Damn," the blond grunted as he shot back to his feet, despite the pain in his torso, and charged past Marcus to bodyslam Eris as she attempted to get the jump on Melody. He helped the girl to her feet and glared at her blackened fingers. "This is not going as I imagined."

"Marcus! Keep cat-boy outta my way!" Eris called, to which her partner responded with a glare.

"Any bright ideas?" Melody whispered, figuring that their enemies were too busy hating one another to pay too close attention. Nathan frowned slightly and then his expression darkened.

"I've got one but… damnit, I wanted to save it for when we got to fight in the finals." Melody stared at her partner in confusion for a moment before her expression turned annoyed and she smacked him on the back on the head.

"Hey Furball, we've got to actually make it to the finals first. What's your plan?" Nathan pouted and looked ready to argue but the glare from his childhood friend silenced him. He sighed and glanced at their opponents, who seemed to be finishing up their argument and getting ready to turn their focus back on them.

"There was a moment during our fight where I was able to get past Marcus' defenses, I'm guessing all the heat he's been generating has slowed down his thought process. Though, it seems like expending some of it as he did in the second half of our fight kinda helped improve his response time. We can't just keep chipping away at him until he's at that point again, we just don't have the energy," Nathan said, motioning to the both of them in turn. Melody frowned, still not quite understanding his reasoning. "But we may not need to do the whole process over again. See those wounds on his chest?"

"Yeah? Looks like a scar," she said, looking at the jagged scratch marks. Nathan grinned and shook his head, holding up his clawed hand.

"Nope, I did that no more than five minutes ago. His body heat must be so fuckin' high that his wounds are cauterizing themselves. Add to that the fact that Eris is nearing her limit with how many bones she's used. She is just as much at her limit as we are." Melody frowned as the brunette in question turned her back on her partner and faced them. While her attention had earlier focused on the girl's wrists, she was sporting a few cuts and bruises from when the few times Nathan had gotten to her.

"Your plan better be good, Nathan." Nathan grinned, taking this as her agreement to his plan and walked a few steps closer to their opponents.

"His defenses are too good for my normal speed. Ergo, in order to break through them I've just gotta go faster, right?" Melody was about to demand that he tell her his plan and tell him off for his nonchalance, but the words died in her throat. Nathan was… changing. His hair, already reaching his shoulders, grew longer and wilder, while his tail lengthened and flicked through the air in agitation. In an instant, all the special training he'd done with his father during the months before the entrance exam made sense. His father had passed on his signature ability – the same ability that had been in the Larson family for generations.

"Beast Mimicry."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **No excuses. Next chapter will be out on time.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero!**

 **Chapter 38: Beast Mimicry**

 **Q &A with Narruk Mondronen**

 **To Narruk: Finish the Lyric** : "wake me up _"

 **Narruk:** _When this is over._ (I Refuse by Five Finger Death Punch)

 **To Narruk:** _if someone farts in class would you be able to smelt out who dealt it_

 _Sadly, yes. [Glares at Clara]_

 **To everyone:** _Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away you're coming right to me?_

 **Narruk:** _Gotta stomp a mudhole in your ass somehow and from a distance doesn't cut it._

 **To Narruk:** _What happens when one rubs your belly?_

 **Narruk:** _Ladies get off easy and my leg kicks like a dog. Guys get punted like a football._

 **To Narruk:** _how do you feel about Lyle and Andrew_

 **Narruk:** _Good people I'd be honored to fight beside, but it's hard to call anyone friends recently due to personal reasons_

 **To Narruk:** _after you go hunting and make a kill, do you just keep the meat and leave everything else, or does nothing go to waste?_

 **Narruk:** _I make jewelry or gifts from the bone. Antlers and horns for decoration or to mark where they died. The fur I sell or keep for clothing. It's a Tressig thing._

 **To Narruk:** _Have your parents or friends ever taken you out to play fetch?_

 **Narruk:** _Used to._

 **To Narruk,** _do you have to replace the clothes you rip when you transform_

 **Narruk:** _Yes, but I put in orders for clothes to work with the transformation so that shouldn't be too much of a problem._

 **To everyone:** _What's your favorite kind of music?_

 **Narruk:** _Rock, outlaw country, and instrumental/orchestral stuff_

 **To anyone who cares to answer:** _what's your favourite sport? If you care at all in this age of quirks._

 **Narruk:** _American football, hockey, boxing, and mixed martial arts_

 **To everyone:** _Who's your favourite hero?_

 **Narruk:** _The Moonlit Hero, Lunarch and Lupine Hero, Howl_

 **To Narruk:** _hey big boy ever had a girlfriend?_

 _[Takes off mic and leaves interview]_


	39. Chapter 38: Beast Mimicry

**October 22, 2317**

"Come on, Nathan. Take this seriously. The Forge's training will be much tougher than anything we've ever done here," Axel Larson said, looking down at his eldest son. The boy was on his hands and knees, covered in bruises and panting heavily. They were four hours into their training and he still had not shown any progress beyond making his fingers bleed by trying to pull out his claws by force. "Stand up."

"Piss off, old man. I'm fine," Nathan growled as he pushed himself up to his feet, only to fall back to his knees with a hiss of pain. Axel sighed and offered his hand, though it was quickly and unsurprisingly smacked away. ' _Why does he have to be as stubborn as his mother?'_

"Beast Mimicry isn't something you can master without patience. It takes an immeasurable amount of concentration and willpower to be able to pull it off."

"Patience my ass! The exam's in a week and this is all you've been teaching me for four months! We've made _zero_ progress!" The boy cried. His annoyance and rage managed to push the pain and exhaustion to the back of his mind just long enough for him to regain his footing. The moment he was able to breathe correctly again his father put a hand on his shoulder, which he quickly shrugged off.

"This is our family's ultimate technique, the true secret of our Quirks. For generations, everyone believed it was impossible to master it without the use of an outside force until your grandfather made it his own. When he was first teaching me, it took nearly a year and a half for me not to pass out and another six months to be able to activate it at will. Believe me when I say this, we've made unbelievable progress so far. You'll get it one of these times. You're far smarter than I am, after all." Nathan huffed and turned away from the man, crossing his arms over his chest. Axel chuckled at this and then winced in pain. "Come on, let's go get some grub. Can't train on an empty stomach."

"Whatever," the teen responded, clearly still agitated at his supposed lack of improvement. Axel grinned merrily as he took a seat next to his wife on the blanket they'd set up earlier. Veronica gave him a look of mixed concern and agitation as he joined her.

"And you wonder why your wound isn't healed fully. I know you enjoy personally training the boy but you're straining yourself too much. You could easily just call your father and he can take over," she said, her voice somewhat pleading. Even after over a decade of marriage, Axel could never understand how his wife was able to sound so caring and yet so threatening at the same time.

"No, this is something I must do. Besides, Niklas is too busy with the Crimson Sun to travel all the way across the ocean. And don't worry about the wound, I'm as fit as a horse!" He declared confidently, startling Nathan out of his broody contemplation and rousing his youngest son to mimic his cry. Thankfully for his own dignity, neither of them seemed to notice how his face twisted and his hand grabbed onto his stomach tightly. As usual, his wife was right. The wound he'd suffered nearly half a year ago from a civilian's Laser Quirk was still very far from being restored. "It should be fully healed by now."

"It would be, if you didn't sneak out every night to go on patrol," Veronica countered, her voice lowering to match his own. He grimaced and turned his attention toward the lunch he'd helped prepare earlier in the day.

"...of course you knew about that."

"You weren't being very sneaky," his wife responded snarkily, handing her husband a sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil. Grumbling, he accepted the meal and began to dig in. With the exception of Brian, who was always babbling about something, the family sat in comfortable silence, eating tuna sandwiches and enjoying the warm mid-summer day. Eventually, Axel glanced over at Nathan, who hadn't touched his lunch and was staring contemplatively at the clouds. ' _He's up to something.'_ When the boy's look turned from thoughtful to determined, his thoughts were confirmed.

"Hey old man, you said Gramps trained you mostly on power right? Like, focused on having you hit harder and stuff?" The boy barely waited for his father to nod before continuing with his thought. "Well, my Quirk's always been more of a speed type, so doing the same thing wouldn't really work, would it? Maybe that's why your method isn't working for me. All these meditation and strength exercises won't do shit –"

"Nathan Fjallby Larson, you watch your language!" Veronica scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, but think about it. You and Gramps get totally uber strong whenever you use Beast Mimicry, so what if I just get faster? Speed needs strength sure, but if I'm right then we've already wasted way too much time. We need to completely overhaul my training to focus on agility and acceleration." As his son continued to ramble, a smile broke out on Axel's face. ' _I should have known. He's far too hyperactive to benefit from what my Pater taught me. Thank goodness he got his mother's smarts.'_ At that moment – almost as if she could read his thoughts – his wife dug her elbow into his side.

"We should probably calm him down before he starts scratching up the park's trees," she said, looking tiredly at the blond, who was now on his feet and pacing rapidly, much to the amusement of his younger sibling.

"I could probably swipe some traffic cones and set those up to run full speed through to work on agility and balance, while to get faster all I have to do is push my limits and run. Granted, I'm sure having some obstacles would only further inc–"

"Come on, boy. I have no idea if this is going to work but it's better than me beating you into the dirt every five minutes."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Beast Mimicry," Melody muttered to herself, staring at her newly transformed teammate. Nathan's tail flicked indignantly through the air and his ears wiggled at the booming noise of the stadium. ' _I can't believe he didn't tell me about this! It would have made strategizing so much easier!"_ Hearing her sudden sigh of exasperation, the blonde turned and stared at her, perplexed, for a moment before running over to her on all fours. Next thing Melody knew, her childhood friend was rubbing his head affectionately against her leg and… purring? ' _Apparently, it affects his brain as well. Another thing I would have appreciated knowing,'_ she thought uncomfortably, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, maybe let's stop that, yeah? Still in the middle of a battle here!"

"Wow, Mel. Didn't know you two were like that," Eris taunted, clearly amused at the predicament. It even seemed as if Marcus was holding back a smile.

"This would be my day. Get asked out by Benji and my best friend goes housecat in front of the entire country. Brilliant," the redhead muttered to herself. She quickly took a step away and flicked her partner on his nose, making him flinch and sneeze violently. "Nathan! Come on, we can't give them any more time to recover. If you can still understand me, we're going with Plan X."

"Meow?"

"Guess I'm on my own then. Freakin'... GAH!" Melody cried, throwing her hands up in agitation. Ignoring her still 'meowing' friend, the redhead began a slow jog as her skin started to turn a deathly blue.

"She's getting too good at that," Marcus commented as their opponent slipped into the concrete and disappeared from view. Nearby, Eris scanned the ground, looking for any sign of the girl when she heard a noise behind her. She whirled around, Black Bone Spear at the ready, only to stop as the point came level with Nathan's inquisitive blue eyes.

"How the hell?" She grumbled, looking over her shoulder at the spot the blond had been sitting just moments before. ' _How did we not notice him? Better question, what's he doing?"_ She gave Marcus a look that said 'what am I supposed to do?' as she watched their opponent smack the ground with his hand – or paw, she wasn't really sure it was classified as at this point. Her partner's brow furrowed before his eyes widened.

"Watch it!" He shouted just a moment too late. While her attention was focused on Nathan, Eris was sucker-punched in the chin by Melody, who'd leapt out of the ground and shifted mid-air. The brunette grunted in pain as she fell backward onto the concrete.

"Get him now, Nathan!" Marcus' eyes widened and he whipped around to the sight of Nathan, still as oblivious as before and looking quizzically in the direction of his friend's voice. Then, he felt an arm wrap around his neck and his feet being swept out from underneath him. For as short as Melody was (especially compared to the majority of her male and even female classmates), she knew how to use her deceptive strength to her advantage.

The two hit the ground hard and Marcus, though he'd definitely gotten the worst of it, immediately brought his arm up and attempted to elbow the girl. However, he only succeeded in slamming it through her frigid Wraith and bashing it off the concrete, sending a chilling wave of cold and pain coursing through his veins. Before he could process this, Melody had leaped to her feet just in time to be tackled by Eris. While the girls wrestled on the ground, Marcus shivered and got to his feet. "Stay still!"

"Any day now, Furball!" Eris grinned as she continued to press her opponent. The redhead was beginning to slow and Eris had actually managed to land a few good hits, which resulted in a pretty nasty cut above the redhead's left eye. ' _She must've exhausted her Quirk with all that sneaking around. Easy pickings!'_ Eris thought, bringing her bone baton cracking down on the girl's shoulder. Despite her best effort, Melody let out a sharp cry of pain and continued to back up until suddenly she couldn't. Her next step backward left her foot dangling over the side of the dock and her balance askew. Eris grinned at her advantage and stuck out her baton, mere inches away from her opponent's chest.

"It's been fun, Mel, but it's over. Your partner's turned himself into a freakin' house cat and you're at your limit. If you don't wanna take an impromptu bath, I'd suggest surrendering," Eris said haughtily. Instead, Melody's eyes narrowed and she smacked the baton away before lunging at the brunette, shoving her fist into the girl's ribs. Her opponent grunted but seemed otherwise unphased as she grabbed Melody by the collar of her jumpsuit and headbutted her with enough force to make her vision go dark around her peripherals. A pained cry once again forced its way out of her lips as she crumpled to the concrete. The headache that'd been growing from the overuse of her Quirk was instantly cranked up to eleven on the pain scale as her head throbbed. "My brother always did say I have a thick skull, though I think he meant more in a metaphorical sense and not a physical one."

"Eris, just tie her up and help me find that Nathan," Marcus demanded, his eyes scanning the docks for any sign of their feral opponent (who'd somehow managed to slip away unnoticed again). Eris scowled and made a rude hand gesture at her teammate.

"Killjoy. So sorry you and your boyfriend've gotta go out so soon, Mel. I'll kick Clara's ass in the finals for ya, don't wo– gah!" Through the haze, Melody saw a blond blur shoot out from behind a nearby shipping container and slam, head-on, into Eris. Despite her blurry vision, she was able to clearly make out her partner slam Eris into the ground and knock away her wild baton swing, sending the bone skittering across the concrete.

"Mel, String!" Nathan roared as he struggled to hold down a writhing Eris. The fact that actual words came out of her partner's mouth instead of meows or purrs brought a bit of life back into the girl and she grabbed the spool from her belt. Just sliding it across the ground to her partner sent a surge of agony rippling through her entire nervous system. Apparently, changing into a wild beast for a short amount of time had restarted the strategic part of Nathan's brain that had been largely missing over the past week. Instead of immediately tying up Eris as she'd been expecting, Nathan unspooled a large amount of the thread and turned, nearly wrapping it around Marcus' foot as he tried to kick the boy off of his partner. It would have worked, if not for Marcus' Counter ability. Luckily, it seemed Nathan had planned for that as well since instead of being blown back and off his pinned target, he spun his body with the momentum and brought his free fist slamming into the side of Marcus' knee. By the pained expression on his feline-like face, it hadn't been a costless maneuver.

"Nathan," Melody said breathily as she tried to force herself to stand, which worked but at the cost of the throbbing in her head growing even more painful. If he heard her, he'd chosen to ignore her in favor of somersaulting overtop of Eris' head and pulling her arms at a painful angle. Despite the boy's best attempts, the blow to his knee halted Marcus just enough to give Nathan enough time to wrap the prone girl's hands together, receiving a very sharp series of finger bones jutting out of his bicep in return.

" _Dark Spear is incapacitated! We're down to the wire in a two-on-one!"_ Holl said, a hint of surprise in his tone.

" _Gotta love that feline flexibility. If I'd tried that maneuver I would have broken in two,"_ Oddball added helpfully.

"MARCUS YOU BETTER WIN THIS YOU IDIOT!" Eris growled as she sat up and proceeded to sulk. Her partner didn't have time to respond however because as soon as she'd been eliminated, Nathan turned his attention to him. Earlier, Marcus had had no trouble blocking or countering the blond's attacks, as fast as they were. Now though, it seemed as if his speed had tripled and every attack was pushing the limits of his reflexes. Before it had taken Nathan nearly twenty attempts to finally break through his Counter, this time it had taken him only three to leave a shallow slash on his lower back and to top it all off, his body heat was rising at an alarming rate. His skin had even begun turning from it's already concerning red hue to a very vibrant orange. Each cut and subsequent cauterization was getting increasingly more painful and the near oppressive heat he was giving off was making it hard for him to breathe. Meanwhile, Melody propped herself up against a light pole and watched as Marcus was surrounded by a blond maelstrom of claws. ' _Took you long enough. That's so like you, taking a break in the middle of a fight and letting me handle everything. You're impossible, Furball,'_ she thought with a small smile, which quickly turned to a grimace as her head throbbed.

' _His speed is unbelievable. I'm only gonna get one chance at this before the heat becomes too much to bear. Just like I practiced. Gotta keep this under control,'_ Marcus thought. He trained his eyes on a single spot just three yards in front of him and focused, his body beginning to glow a violent red. With how tired he was feeling, he'd only have one shot. There was a flash of yellow and immediately, Marcus' full-power counter knocked Nathan off balance. ' _There!'_ The gray-haired boy grimaced as the red tone of his skin began to drain into his right fist, which had turned a very bright blue, leaving the rest of his body a sickly gray color. "AIR RUPTURE!"

There was an ear-shattering blast, the temperature in the arena rose several degrees and both Nathan and Marcus shot off in opposite directions like they were shot out of a cannon. While Marcus was stopped by a metal shipping container, which crumpled as he hit it, the force carried Nathan into the wall of the arena, skimming just over the surface of the water as he flew. Even from fifty yards away Melody, who'd just avoided getting bowled over by Marcus, could see her partner's eyes lose their light as he slipped off the wall and fell face-first into the artificial bay below. Since her friend was already getting picked out of the water by Castor and Pollux – she never could explain how they always seemed to materialize out of nowhere like that – Melody did her best to limp over to where Marcus had landed. Sitting there, amongst an array of broken wood and metal, was her opponent, his eyes shut and a trickle of blood running down his temple and the stench of burning flesh – a smell she had quickly come to hate over her brief time at the Forge – wafting off of his seared and twisted hand.

" _I'm being told that both Leo and Pivot Pointer are down for the count. Therefore, since Scarlette Phantom is the only competitor still standing, she and Leo are the winners of this match and move on to the Final Eight!"_

"Jeez, y'all have no concept of restraint, do ya?" Elvira asked as she jogged up next to Melody to survey the damage. In response, the history teacher heard a sharp intake of breath and just barely reacted in time to catch the redhead before she fell. She picked up the girl bridal style and sighed tiredly. ' _Still, if these kids can do this while they're still largely untrained… just imagine what they'll be able to do once they've become full-fledged heroes themselves. Poor Pros won't know what hit 'em when they start losing their ranks to these brats.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"What do you mean I can't see them?" Melody demanded. Nurse Holl pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"Mr. Mondronen is still in critical condition and Mr. Larson is currently being checked over. We've had to contact his father because, and I'm only saying this because you're a close friend of their family, we frankly have no idea how to reverse the changes of Beast Mimicry. But above all that, _you_ are in no condition to go anywhere with your injuries," Leena explained. When the student looked as if she was going to protest, the nurse simply held up her hand and began reading off of her clipboard. "Fractured ankle, dislocated right shoulder, bruised ribs, and a fracture in your left arm. Not to mention the near-constant nosebleed you've been experiencing since you arrived or the obvious exhaustion. Need I remind you that you've still got at least one, possibly three more battles tomorrow?"

"Fine," Melody relented, crossing her arms over her chest. She couldn't refute the nurse's claims either. She'd never felt this sore or worn out. Not only had she suffered injuries in both of her matches, she'd overused her Quirk more than ever before. It took all of her willpower to just keep her eyes open and form coherent sentences. The redhead had no doubt that she wouldn't even be able to make it ten steps without keeling over. "Can you at least keep me in the know?"

"Fine. I'll give you updates as soon as I can as long as you stay in bed and rest. I'd prefer it if you'd sleep but I doubt that will be the case. You're too high-strung," the nurse remarked as she pulled back the curtain and walked away, leaving Melody staring at the plain white curtain. With a groan, she slumped back against her pillow and began replaying the day's events in her head. Benji's bet, her and Nathan beating him and Hazel, Narruk's transformation, the way he'd looked after she'd arrived and he'd calmed down.

' _This feels like the longest day of my life. Tomorrow's only going to be worse. I highly doubt my injuries will fully heal by then, granted there's a lot of people in the same boat, but I won't have Nathan as my safety net either. I know we planned for this and I've been training my ultimate but it hasn't really felt possible that we might face each other until now. It's really hard to believe that there's only going to be eight people left. I really,_ really _, don't wanna face Clara and I know Sirius and Epi will be wanting revenge… okay, maybe just Epi.'_ The redhead frowned and glanced to her left, where she knew a few rooms down her friend was being treated and, most likely, having all the excess hair he'd grown during Beast Mimicry shaved off.

' _Then I might have to face Nathan. The two of us have never really fought seriously. Usually, our spars end with one of us throwing in the towel before things get too heated. Then there's still the rest of the battles today. I don't like the look of Damien, especially since Nathan's so afraid of him. I know next to nothing about Zachary and Vivianne and Oliver may not seem like a threat but if he's motivated… that's a frightening thought. Andi is just a bad matchup for me. Alex and Payton, I can handle barring any tricks. Then there's Lyon. He's the worst-case scenario. I wonder if dad saw my fights today? I know he and Anthony were setting up a stand outside. Wonder if he'd be proud or infuriated it took me so long to win. I should really go visit sometime soon, haven't been in a while.'_ With her mind jumbled by thoughts and exhaustion finally setting in, Melody closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"I can't believe he blew himself up!" Lyle cackled, drawing some stares from his classmates. All those who'd already been eliminated and didn't need medical help had been moved to a private box near the top of the stadium to watch the rest of the battles, though some were enjoying the experience more than others.

"Yes, yes very funny," Rylee snapped, burying her head in her folded arms. Beside her, Lilia snickered and patted her on the back while the girl continued to mumble: "Damned stretchy idiot."

"Don't be so hard on him. I don't think he has the ability fully mastered yet. He probably wasn't expecting it to have that much kickback," Diana cut in, while Andrew nodded his assent. In the very front row, Kira sat with her cellphone held at an angle while her fingers tapped away at its screen. When a shadow appeared above her, she quickly snapped the phone downward and glared up at the grinning face of Benji.

"Who ya texting?" He asked as he hopped over the row of seats and sat down beside her, a wide grin on his face.

"My… friend."

"You're a horrible liar. You're texting a guy, aren't you? The one you met outside at the festival?" He pressed. Kira's eyes narrowed and she stowed her phone away in her pocket. This proclamation drew quite a few stares from the box's other inhabitants, though none looked as intrigued as Benji himself.

"How do you know about that?" Kira asked before she could stop herself. ' _Oh wow, great job. Way to confirm it to everyone!'_ she scolded herself. If possible, Benji's smile widened and scooted as close as he could in the padded chair until his side was pressed firmly against the armrest separating the two.

"I have my sources. Now, what's his name? You two seemed to be getting along nicely."

"Were you spying on me?" Kira demanded, her eyes smoldering. Benji took the hint and backed up a bit, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Not spying, I just… happened to be sitting near you guys and listened to every word you said."

"That's literally spying you prick!"

"Both of you be quiet. The match is about to start," Jake said. Their fight forgotten (momentarily), Kira and Benji turned their attention to the arena where the two teams were welcomed by the layout of a roofless shopping mall, complete with shops, kiosks, and escalators to a second level. On one end, Zachary and Vivianne looked ready to go, their heads were together and it looked as if they were doing some last-minute strategizing, while on the other end Oliver and Damien looked as if they'd both just woken up. The former yawned widely while the latter just stared into the sky absentmindedly.

" _Our third match of the second round, between the team of Erebus and Rubberband versus Catch-All and Echo, begins now!"_

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Ugh, I know, I know, I suck. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. A little bit different compared to other character's ultimate moves since neither Nathan nor Marcus has full control over them yet which definitely played a part in the outcome of this battle. It will be revealed later exactly** _ **why**_ **Nathan was able to break out of his… er, house cat mode and go into full-blown leopard.**

 **Also, fun fact: I recently found out that lions are faster than leopards while leopards are stronger (comparatively) to lions which kinda screws over the whole thing I was going for where Nathan's Quirk is basically his dad's just with more speed and less power so screw it. From now on its canon that each of their Quirks draws on a certain aspect of their animal counterpart and amplifies it. So Nathan = leopard = speed while Axel (Lionheart) = lion = power.**

 **Anyway, let's get onto the preview shall we (I promise I'll try and get this chapter out without a month in between like the last few.)**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 39: Ice and Fire**

 **Now for a Q &A with everyone's favorite snarky Poison boi: Lyle Wolfbane**

 **To everyone who wants to answer, what is your Impression on your class? What student do you have your eye on? What student would you least want to fight?**

" _My impression of them? A bunch of sitcom characters with superpowers. The one I have my eye on is Lyon, he is absolutely hiding something behind that finally peed smile. As for the student I least want to fight…Sirius and Epiphany considering I can't poison a ghost can I?"_

 **To all whom want to answer: How many upperclassmen do you believe you can beat?**

" _Fuck if I know! I don't like dealing with unknowns but guess maybe 7 or 10. even if they are upperclassmen they might not be all battle focused or weaker without a support item like Andi and Sirius._

 **To everyone: What's your favorite kind of music?**

" _Rap and hip hop are my thing. Guys in middle school will randomly break out into a freestyle and god help you if you say something corny."_

 **To Lyle: Do you study poisons to know which ones to use for certain situations or to try new kinds?**

" _Wow questions about my quirk this isn't televised is it? I usually look up the poisons from books or the all-knowing Internet to recreate them, then experiment on my victe- ahem volunteers to see how it works. Been needing a new subject too…"_

 **To Lyle: do you secrete ready-to-use toxins or just different biomolecules that you can rearrange by will to create said toxin and the toxin's toxicity?**

" _I generally keep a few Poisons that are simple and quick to plop out but if I need something different or new i have to think of the chemicals in my body to create poisons that aren't real at all for example if were to recreate Psilocybe cubensis or magic mushroom for a hallucinogen but want the stopping power of something like nightshade then i have to concentrate and combine the chemicals and maybe molecules to create something new again this takes time and it's a pain in the ass, that's why I don't do it often"_

 **To Lyle: think you can secrete gaseous type poison?**

" _Not that I know of… that could be worth looking into."_

 **To Lyle: Are you only able to secrete natural toxins, or can you secrete something that could be cooked up in a lab?**

" _Huh not as much of a stupid question jocky as I thought. I can do both. I can mimic, oh lets say a dart frog or Angel Wings fungus by exposure or a firm understanding of its chemical composition. I can also make my own variants of these or make my own original poisons. As long as it doesn't instantly kill me I can survive nearly any poison. I love getting poisoned too and adding it to my collection. Now if Diana will fucking bite me already!"_

 **To Lyle: Is the white hair natural or are you trying to be edgy? XD**

" _Yeah, I left my eye patch and my demon slaying sword in my room. Of course it's natural you idiot! Think anyone can get this snowy mane._

 **To all: who is best girl?**

" _The fuck kinda question is that?! I guess Andi matches my mischievous mindset sometimes._

 **To everyone: Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?**

" _I wouldn't start it but If someone where to start the following of grand imperial warlord Hemlock intimidator of the nine realms…then who am I to deny them._

 **To everyone: Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?**

" _I do keep a garden outside the dorm to grow my medicinal herbs and poisonous plants, i can't poison people and keep thinking the school will keep up with my crazy creations. But i do wanna start growing other flowers like roses or even Iris's or maybe lavander._

 **To everyone: Any fashion tips?**

" _The new Oddball nines came out this week so I'm getting those to look fly! Oh right for someone else I don't know get a chain or something._

 **To everyone: What would you do for a Klondike bar?**

" _Throw a pie at Clara's face. No wait I'd do that anyway."_

 **To everyone: What is your ideal type?**

"Any girl who's not a manipulative, selfish bitch!"

 **Everyone, finish the lyric: "wake me up _"**

" _I believe ancient scripture has the line "Before you go-go."_

 **To Everyone: If there was an apocalypse, which three of your classmates would you pick to be in your survival team and why?**

" _Narruk and Andrew. Don't tell those dicks but I trust them the most in this class."_

 **To everyone: MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA WRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY**

" _Did you just have a stroke? What the hell does Muda mean? Are you stupid?"_

 **To everyone that wants to answer: Realistically, can you keep a small child alive for a week, without direct interference?**

" _I guess if the little bastard behaves, that also means not using my quirk but if the little bugger is healthy it's fine._

 **To everyone: its karaoke night what are you singing?**

" _My favorite rap song. I may not be the best at singing but i've been told i got a rapper's flow._

 **To all: who going to drink the bottles of ipecac on the table and go longest without vomiting?**

" _Considering my biology, I can say I'd win by a landslide or barf-slide by the end of it."_

 **To anyone that wants to answer: Favorite song?**

" _Droppin the cowl by 2 Tone. You know the rapper with two mouths. It looks disturbing at first but when you can spit a verse and sing the harmony you have something there. Thought don't tell others that song has some heavy hero slander but the beat is awesome._

 **To anyone that wants to answer: If you could have any other quirk in your class, which one would you have?**

" _I'd like Kira's quirk. It is very versatile and is wasted on a dullard like her."_

 **To everyone: in a parallel world if you where a villain what would your villain name be.**

" _Mustard, no that's stupid. Plague, mmm feels like someone beat me to it. Hell Viper sounds cool."_

 **To everyone: have you had your first kiss yet?**

" _Yes and I wish that I didn't! In middle school I went out with a girl for two weeks. Hand holding, texting cute crap, kissing the whole nine yards. Come to find out it was a trap to get me jumped by her real boyfriend and some goons that didn't like me. Bitch."_


	40. Chapter 39: Ice and Fire

"Tell me, Oliver. From your observations, what would be the best plan of action here, against our opponents?" Damien asked, his eyes still focused on the sky. With the sun halfway through its descent, blue was slowly beginning to gain an orange hue. Behind him, Oliver glanced at the abandoned shopping mall, it's storefronts open but completely empty. ' _Feels like we're in some crappy zombie movie,'_ he thought absentmindedly. He assumed that their opponents were just on the other side of the large, marble fountain taking up much of the mall's main area. He then followed his partner's gaze and hummed thoughtfully. To Damien's surprise, the boy practically fell onto a nearby bench and waved his hand in the direction of their opponents.

"They started on the other side of that fountain. Therefore, they've probably gone to the upper floor to get a better vantage point. Zach is a close-range fighter while Vivienne is mainly a support type so they'll be looking to watch our progress and figure out a good way to get in close," Oliver said, resting his head against the back of the bench and closing his eyes. Damien frowned and scanned the upper level of the mall. Though most of the floor was obscured by the opaque glass of the railing, he managed to catch a bit of movement near the shoe store.

"They're to our ten o'clock."

"Once they figure out a way to get the jump on us, they'll likely come prepared. Vivienne is a dangerous variable due to how much stuff she can store in her hair but if I had to guess, flash bombs are one of the things they requested from the school. They'll start with one of those to take out any shadows before Zach moves in. He knows your fighting style and how shit you are at close combat, so you're screwed if he gets in close. Unless they were modified, which I'm not counting out, the flash bomb will only give them a few seconds to move from their position to attack. Not a bad strategy, but they're relying a lot on chance and hoping you're too thrown off by the attack." Damien took a deep breath and curled two of his fingers, feeling the everpresent chill of the shadows answering his call. ' _He's right. Zach is our best close-range fighter, though I don't appreciate my admittedly subpar skills being brought into question. Given even a minute and the fight would be decided. I'll just have to be quicker than that.'_ He thought, listening to the echo of his opponent's footsteps. Just as predicted, their attack was prefaced with the telltale clink of metal on the marble floor. A loud pop later and, despite having closed his eyes beforehand, his vision was flooded by the flash.

"Well done, Oliver," Damien murmured. Even with his eyesight still flushed white, he stepped to the side and dodged Zach's falling axe kick and, more impressively, managed to block the boy's haymaker. The black-haired boy then took a step back and held out his arm, clenching his hand into a fist. Above them, there was a cry of surprise which managed to draw Zach's attention back to his teammate, who was ensnared by a shadow wrapping around her whole body. ' _One down. I–'_ Damien's thoughts were cut short as a steel-toed boot slammed into his stomach.

"This is so unlike you. You're not the type to analyze a situation outside of the classroom. You're always rushing into combat pumped full of piss and vinegar!" Zach taunted, his opponent just managing to dodge his jab but leaving himself open for his following uppercut. The shadow user grunted in pain and flailed back, nearly falling over a potted plant. ' _He's keeping me on the defensive. Probably trying to make me break concentration so Vivienne can get free.'_ Damien observed, ducking under a high kick, only to be caught by a punch to his solar plexus. His breath caught and he wheezed, gripping the fabric of his costume.

"He's not wrong I suppose," Oliver said. Damien seized up and glanced over his shoulder, wondering when he'd been pushed back to his teammate's position. The boy was lying on the bench as if he were enjoying the show but the look in his eyes was cold and calculating. "Don't give me that betrayed look. You're no strategist, that's for damn sure, but that doesn't mean you're a bad fighter. More suited to a team effort than solo work, I suppose."

"Urgh," Damien groaned as Zach, apparently not too keen on letting them stand – or in Oliver's case lie – around and talk, grabbed him by his shoulder and drove his elbow into the shadow user's stomach. ' _Just what the hell are you talking about, Oliver?'_ The boy in question sighed as he turned his head to watch the moving battle.

"Keep dodging, don't let him get too many hits off if you can help it. When you get a chance to counter-attack, aim for his right leg. He took a hit early in his fight against Ryūken and has been keeping his weight off of it ever since." For just a fraction of a second, Zach's expression turned from one of determination to surprise. His next strike was just a tad bit slower than the rest, which Damien promptly used to his advantage. A chill went down his spine as he leaped forward and tackled the other boy, pinning him to the ground with black tendrils. Despite his struggles, Zach couldn't do anything as the shadows dragged both him and his teammate right in front of Damien. He nodded and brought out his capture string. As soon as the announcement of their victory was made, he collapsed on the bench next to his teammate and held a hand to his swollen cheek. "Hm, wasn't expecting an opening to present itself so soon. I figured you had another three minutes of getting your ass beat until he got tired. It's annoying how unpredictable these things can be."

"What'd you mean earlier? About me not being good solo?" Oliver gave him a questioning look before rolling his eyes and standing up.

"Never said you wouldn't be good. You're just better in a team. At least for the moment, you lack critical decision-making skills. You have incredible talent and power – exemplified by you being able to hold Vivienne while getting your ass beat – but you're as bad at seeing the bigger picture as you are at hand-to-hand combat." Damien puffed up slightly at the backhanded jab but Oliver just started walking away, forcing him to his feet to catch up. "Plus, you're way too predictable. If being at this school has taught me anything, it's that adaptability is key. Learn that and who the hell knows. You may be able to give Lyon a run for his money. Probably, anyway. I still can't get a damn read on that guy."

"Adaptability, eh? I'll remember that." Oliver gave him a dry look and shrugged. The moment the two got into the tunnel to the infirmary – which surprised Damien since Oliver had been the one in the lead – the shadow user grabbed his teammate by the shoulder. "Oliver. If we end up facing each other in the next round. Give it your all, I want to see if your bite matches your bark."

"You're really lame, you know that? And no way. Now that I can lord the fact that I got farther than him over Marcus' head, I can finally check out of this whole troublesome debacle. If we end up fighting, be grateful for the guaranteed win." Now standing alone at the entrance to the infirmary as he watched his former partner walk away, Damien frowned. ' _You're something else, Oliver. It scares me to think_ _what_ _would happen if anyone were to piss you off enough to go all out.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You're in no condition to fight!"

"So what, we forfeit?" Lyon tilted his head to the side as he watched the shouting match between his partner and the school nurse. The two had been going at it for nearly six minutes and showed no signs of slowing down. Even with their formerly private room being flooded by a hoard of curious students, the two still fought. It was only after she accidentally glanced in his direction that Andi seemed to remember there were other people present. "Lyon! Help me out here!"

"Ah, well she does have a point, Andi. Your ribs are still in bad shape and you're exhausted from our earlier fight. It seems forfeit is the most logical answer," he said truthfully. Immediately, the girl's look of hope shattered and tears began to form in her eyes.

"Shut up, Lyon! No one asked you!"

"However, seeing as how _I_ am still in exceptional condition, I could go and fight for the both of us alone."

"Your fingers are literally _gone_!" Andi shot back. Lyon grinned wider, held out his hands, and shrugged.

"I suppose we have no other choice then. Come along Andi, our battle will be starting soon. Don't want to be late now do we?" Though his partner brightened considerably at this, Mrs. Holl was not as pleased. Her glare gave him the odd urge to find an empty cot and curl up, admitting defeat. However, it was no different than what he was used to. ' _Ah yes. Right back to my rebellious ways. When will I learn?'_ He thought gleefully. Before the woman could react, he walked up to his partner's bedside and grabbed her blanket, flinging it at the nurse.

"Argh! You little brats!" She cried as she struggled to free herself from the linen. As she had expected, the two were gone the moment she was able to see again. Coincidentally, so was the crowd that had gathered to watch. The nurse took a moment to catch her breath and allowed herself a small smile. ' _These kids are tenacious, I'll give them that. You're teaching them well, despite how alike they're becoming to you, Derrick. If nothing else, they'll be wonderful in whatever they decide to do in their lives, Hero or not.'_

Meanwhile, Andi felt as if her chest were about to burst open. After Lyon had sprung her out of the infirmary they'd jogged along the hallways until they came to the prep room, only to immediately be called on to report for their battle. On any other day, their escape would have caused her no problems but even the slightest movement sent waves of pain shooting through her nervous system. As she bent over and put her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath, she heard her partner humming to himself. "Perhaps you should sit this battle out. They will aim for your ribs if you show any sort of weakness and any further damage could prove irreversible."

"No… way," she responded, forcing herself to stand up straight. Lyon regarded her for a moment before he smiled softly, a far cry from his usual, admittedly creepy, grin. ' _I think I like that smile better. Makes him look more human,'_ she thought. As quickly as it had appeared, the look vanished and his usual indifference crept back in.

"Very well, I shall do my best to keep them out of range if you promise not to go rushing in. This is a battle of range, there shall be very little martial arts in this fight. Although, based on their Quirks they could easily extinguish my usual flames. Our last fight was decided by our longevity, I believe in this one we should focus more on, oh what's the saying? Quality over quantity?" Andi nodded in agreement, unsure she could speak much more without losing her breakfast, and the pair quietly awaited the beginning of their match. ' _Melody and Clara already moved on. There's no way I'm letting them get ahead of me. Though, we've really got our work cut out for us. Lyon may be acting tough but he only has one usable hand for this fight and the finals tomorrow. I can't let him do this alone. Screw the pain, I won't be a burden.'_ Fighting back a grimace, she forced herself to stand up and glared out at the stadium.

"Is it just me, or are the stages getting more and more bizarre?" Andi inquired as the arena was transformed into what appeared to be a small neighborhood… or what used to be a small neighborhood. It looked like a tornado had rolled through and destroyed everything in its path, leaving piles of debris and broken houses. To her surprise, Lyon stepped closer to the bars and made a thoughtful sound as he examined the stage.

"I believe this is supposed to be a recreation of the place where the Rhode Island Seven made their final stand. Yes... Charlestown, I believe it's called. I'm impressed, it looked precisely like the footage."

"I thought most of the footage from the Charlestown Incident was classified?" Andi countered and, for a brief moment, the smile on her partner's face faltered. The boy hummed thoughtfully and glanced back at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"I suppose it is. My former tutor was an agent of the government for many years. It seems as if he risked quite a bit to show me the results of the battle. Though, if it is truly classified it must have taken a lot of persuading for the Forge to be able to recreate it," Lyon said, flexing the fingers on his usable hand. Before Andi could pursue the matter, there was a loud creaking sound as the iron bars began to rise.

"Here we go." As soon as Ms. Whittaker announced the beginning of the fight, the sky turned dark and the temperature dropped. Lyon glanced up and chuckled.

"It seems they're starting early." Andi's reply died in her throat as her teammate tensed and then tackled her to the ground. Not a second later, a bolt of lightning crashed down on the spot where they'd been standing. One look at her partner and she could justifiably say he was completely insane. ' _How is he still smiling? We almost got hit by lightning!'_ She thought, looking up at the boy with wide eyes. "So, that's his current level? Interesting. This will be fun."

"What?" Andi asked incredulously.

"If that were an actual lightning strike, we'd most likely not be having this conversation. It means that he's either holding back or weaker than I first thought, though I am certainly hoping for the former. Come now, It's time we launch our counterattack."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Do you think I got 'em?" Payton asked, his hair slightly frizzier than it had been moments before. Alexander, standing a good fifteen feet away, looked into the sky and then back down at his teammate.

"I highly doubt it. Lyon is craftier than you might think, and a lot smarter than you." The brunet turned to his teammate and pouted.

"You're awfully cranky. Still tired from our last match? Those two gave us a run for our money. I can't believe they made us use Ab–"

"Do _not_ call it that. The temperature of that attack is nowhere even close to absolute zero. It's completely misleading," Alexander growled, turning away from his teammate and scowling at the wreckage of a modest two-story house. Behind him Payton sighed, crossing his arms behind his head as he looked at his partner.

"Party pooper."

To say the cyborg's patience was running thin would be a gross understatement. Not only had he watched his sister get beaten not fifteen minutes prior but now he had to be around the person he'd spent the past few hours trying to avoid. ' _Of all people, why did I have to get put with a happy-go-lucky moron with too much power for his own good,'_ he thought bitterly. Trying to distract himself, he reached down and grabbed a _Hydro Core_ before inserting it into the slot in his shoulder. Somewhere off to his left, he heard his teammate groan loudly, followed by the sound of something being struck and a loud exclamation of pain.

"Stop kicking things. You'll give away our position." He rolled his eyes as his partner's face appeared over the top of an old refrigerator, glaring at him. Just as he was about to scold his partner for being childish, there was a loud snap to his left and he was forced to jump behind one of the two story's walls as a torrent of flames rushed by. "Payton!"

"Right! Let's douse his fire!" The boy raised one hand and almost instantaneously a light drizzle of rain began to fall. Alexander felt his eyebrow twitch as the rain continued to fall, albeit slowly.

"We need more rain than this to stop his flames, asshat!"

"Well sorry~ for not going all out right outta the gate! Jeez, least you could do is th–!"

"Paralytic Frequency!" Payton heard the voice behind him just a second too late as the muscles in his body seized up and he fell to one knee. He saw the capture tape in Andi's hands merely inches away from him, but before she could put him out of commission an incredibly strong wind blew Andi several paces back. "Crap! Lyon, he can use it remotely!"

"Infernal Lance!" There was a snap and Payton watched, still paralyzed, as a ten-foot spear-shaped blast of fire shot across the field, unhampered by the rain.

"Activating Hydro Core: Hydro Cannon!" Fire and water collided mid-air, creating a large cloud of steam that split the teams apart. Finally able to control his body again, Payton shakily got to his feet and turned on his smaller opponent. She was in… very bad shape. Bandages were visible on almost every inch of her exposed skin and, despite the fight having just begun, she was breathing heavily.

"You sure you wanna do this? Looks like a light breeze'll knock you over." In response, Andi reached her hand up to her antenna and grimaced. Payton coughed as a wave of nausea washed over him. He quickly rose his hand before bringing it back down, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the earth next to the girl, knocking her off her feet and into a wooden fence. Still feeling sick to his stomach, Payton took refuge behind a burnt-out SUV and slowed his breathing, trying to quell his rolling stomach. ' _Note to self, she's still dangerous when hurt.'_

"Inserting Frost Core: Freezing Ray!"

"Will-O-Wisp!" As Alexander unleashed a blast of ice from his hand cannon, Lyon quickly snapped his fingers several times, creating a series of small fires that shot through the air and collided with his foe's attack, causing a small explosion. Once the smoke cleared up a bit, Alexander pointed his other arm in the direction his opponent had been, only to be blindsided when the orange-haired boy came at him from the side and tackled him to the ground. Lyon grinned merrily as he caught the boy off guard and trapped him with a side choke hold. This turned out to be in vain as it quickly became apparent that the metal scales on his neck weren't just for show. The moment Lyon loosened his grip and tried to put some distance between them, Alexander kicked him hard in the chest and sent him toppling backward, though he was quick to recover, getting back on his feet. "Interesting. You're more skilled in martial arts than I expected."

"I could say the same. Inserting Toxic Core: Acidic Rain!" He angled his cannon skywards and fired. To his surprise, Lyon did not run for cover. Instead, he just held up his hands, the one missing fingers protecting his good hand from the rain, and pointed directly at Alexander, seemingly unaware of the corroding drops burning holes in his costume.

"Burn away. Pyroblast," Lyon said calmly. The ensuing fireball tore apart the broken house that had served as their battleground and managed to set Alexander's pant leg on fire as he leaped out of the way. The acrid smell of burning metal filled the air as he patted out the flames and glared at his foe. "Well, this acid is much less potent than I thought. You may want to ask Lyle for some tips on how to make it better. It's not nearly acidic or corrosive enough to do any more than destroy clothing or give chemical burns."

"Alex, down!" Hearing the urgency in his teammate's voice, Alexander ducked and watched as a bolt of lightning flashed just meters above his head. Once it passed, missing its intended target by mere inches and slamming into a wrecked car, the black-haired teen stood and glared at his teammate, who shrugged. "Sorry, thought I had an opening. These two are slippery, like real guerrilla fighters, eh?"

"Hm, just stay focused. Where's Andi?"

"Dunno, she's been playing hide and seek for a while now. Where's Lyon?" Alexander glanced over his shoulder and sighed. The orange-haired boy was nowhere to be seen. Still somewhat annoyed at his teammate, he barked at the boy to cover him as he slipped two more _Hydro Cores_ from his belt. ' _These two are as bad as a wounded animal. So far, they've been on the offensive but only because they can't risk playing defensively with their injuries. I think it's time to narrow down the search.'_

"Payton, crank up the storm. Drive them inside the buildings, it'll be easier to take them out if they're confined and unable to use Lyon's flames to their full capacity." Payton frowned at this and turned his head to look at the dark clouds looming over the stadium, then back down at his partner.

"You know it's hard for me to maintain a storm like that for too long, right?"

"I'm not asking for a hurricane. Just enough rain to get them scrambling. Once that happens we can start eliminating the houses one by one until we find them," Alexander explained, inserting the pair of cores into each of his shoulders. Payton thought for a moment before shrugging and holding his hands up to the sky. Almost immediately, the clouds began to darken and the light sprinkling of rain became a full deluge. A menacing bolt of lightning lit up the clouds like an electrical cobweb, followed by the distinct sound of reverberating thunder.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Seems they've got us in quite the predicament," Lyon said nonchalantly as he looked out of the window of their temporary refuge from the storm. The interior of the house was just as messy and jumbled as the rest of the neighborhood outside. Books, furniture, children's toys, and all manner of other objects joined the mounds of wood and glass debris on the floor. A large part of the roof and second story had seemingly collapsed, which was quite troublesome as it was cutting the available dry space in the house in half. Nearby, Andi held her ribs tightly, her eyes squeezed shut from the pain. ' _Mrs. Holl is so gonna kill me after this. Not to mention Lyon. I doubt she'll take him kidnapping her patient lying down. Pretty cool he managed to pull one over on her though,'_ she thought as another ripple of lightning illuminated the house. "Seems we've got a little while. They're searching house by house. A very clever plan but it also gives us more time to rest and regroup. Ideally, I would rather not put too much strain on my remaining hand but at this rate, the water is going to cripple me otherwise."

"Useless on a rainy day, huh? Sounds familiar," Andi mused aloud, getting an odd look from her partner. She waved him off and leaned her head back to rest on the wall, closing her eyes and listening to the rain beating against their shelter.

"That was quick. Break time is over," Lyon whispered, causing his teammate's eyes to slid open and her body to tense up. Over the rain, she could hear the muffled voices of their opponents growing closer. With a quiet grunt, she forced herself upright and reached up to her antennae, only for Lyon to hold up a hand. She paused and looked back at him curiously. As quiet as a mouse, the orange-haired teen stalked over to the front door and positioned himself directly in front of it. Once he was in position, he turned back to her and mouthed the word: " _Listen"._

It only took her a second to figure out his meaning and, instead of preparing an attack, she listened closely to the sound of her foe's footsteps growing ever closer. From the tired, but somehow still light-footed gait, she guessed Payton was in the lead. Alex and his sister's footsteps were always much heavier than their bodies would suggest so it was easy to pick them out of a crowd. She heard them begin making their way up the concrete walkway and nodded to Lyon, whose grin widened, becoming more sadistic, as he held up his hand. Before he got the chance however, the house creaked as the wind outside started to pick up. The walls shuttered and Andi could hear as each individual shingle was torn from the roof. The windows imploded, showering them with glass and prying an involuntary yelp of surprise from Andi.

Lyon snapped his fingers and blasted a fireball straight through the wooden door, hitting nothing. Andi attempted to call out to him but was too slow. A blast of pressurized water tore through the wall beside him and connected, throwing him into the brick fireplace across the room. Before she could retaliate, the window beside her shattered as Payton leaped through, a wide smile on his face. "Found ya!"

"Focus!" Alexander growled as he trained his cannon on Andi, who looked at the two of them, then back at her partner. Lyon lied against the fireplace, unmoving except for his left hand, which seemed to be tapping on the floor. Realization dawned on her and she turned her attention back to their opponents. The two seemed to be arguing about Payton nearly tearing the house apart during their entrance.

"You overdid it and exhausted yourself."

"I did not! I still have plenty of energy!"

"Unfortunately. Just hurry and tie up Lyon before he wakes up." Alexander demanded. Payton pouted and pulled out their spool of capture string before walking towards the downed teen, glaring over his shoulder at his partner, while Alexander kept his hand cannon trained on Andi. Meanwhile, the brunette listened intently, mentally following along with the silent conversation.

" _.- .- .. - ..-. - .-. ... .. -. -. .- .-.. -··- - ... . -. ... .. -.-. -.- -. . ... ..."_

"Stupid Alex, always ruining the fun. Oh well, at least I can make fun of Zach for not making it now," Payton said, thinking of his _other_ moody, indignant friend's loss in the last match. It was only when he was less than a meter away from Lyon that he noticed the boy's tapping. His brow furrowed in confusion before his eyes widened and he scrambled back. "Crap!"

"Fiery Web!" In an instant, thin stripes of fire surrounded Payton, closing in around him like a vice. Alexander turned his cannon toward the new threat but Andi took this as her opportunity to strike.

"Sickness Frequency!" She bellowed, her antennae vibrating. Alexander stumbled, his face turning a nasty shade of green, then pointed his other arm at Andi and fired. The blast of pressurized water hit her squarely in the chest and sent her crashing through the already unstable wall into the house's backyard. He quickly reloaded his _Hydro Core_ and turned to face Lyon only to see him swallowing his own flames. ' _This is the move he used against loudmouth in the relay race. Shit, I have a bad feeling about this,'_ he thought as he pointed both of his cannons towards the other boy.

"Uh, guys! Maybe don't go with the super moves!" Payton shouted nervously as the white flames began to leak out of Lyon's mouth and swirl into a sphere, much larger than the fireballs he'd created so far in their fight.

"Greater Pyroblast."

"Hydro Cannon: Double Helix!" Alexander crossed his cannons and fired, causing the torrents to clash as they roared towards the massive white ball of fire. It was only after he fired that Alexander thought about his teammate, who was very much in the blast zone, and the fact that the house they were in was already in horrible disrepair. He barely had time to curse the smile on his opponent's face before the house exploded.

Outside, Andi could only watch as the house, as well as the two similarly broken buildings on either side of it, crumbled to dust in the explosion, and the shockwave knocked her off her feet, which did _not_ feel good after the blast she'd already taken from Alexander. Somewhere in the distance, she heard coughing and glanced over her shoulder to see Ms. Whittaker standing nearby, obviously watching for any reason to stop the match. ' _Why am I not surprised that blowing up a house doesn't qualify to stop a friendly match?'_ she thought as she picked herself up and began trudging towards the wreckage.

As soon as she crossed over the cement foundation, which was the only part of the house still intact, her foot connected with something fleshy, which groaned loudly at the contact. She glanced down at the soot-covered face of Payton, his eyes closed and his brown hair sporting a few scorch marks. Figuring he was already out of commission, she wasted no time tying him up and instead continued through the smoke until she reached the epicenter. Through the smoke, she could make out labored breathing and the soft clink of falling debris on metal. When she finally made it through the haze, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight. Alexander, though heavily burned and breathing like he'd just run a marathon, crouched over the prone form of Lyon, holding him by his collar. To her shock, her teammate's eyes were closed and his face devoid of his usual smile. ' _L-Lyon lost?'_

"Great, you're still up?" The boy asked her, his voice tired but irritated. Andi didn't answer. She looked at her teammate for any sign that he was faking again but there was nothing. He was completely out cold. Alexander let go of Lyon's collar, letting him fall to the floor with a thud, and stood up. He got into a fighting stance, raising his left hand in front of him while his right hung limply at his side. She immediately began to play her sickness frequency but to her shock, Alexander rushed toward her anyway, swinging at her head with his good fist. She ducked, still light on her feet compared to her opponent and tried to raise the frequency of her attack but to no avail. ' _The explosion must've hurt his hearing or something. Even if he can't use one of his arms, he'll overpower me in a second,'_ she thought, frantically looking around the room for any means to help herself. When his next attack came, she dove out of the way and grabbed a large shard of wood. With all her might she threw the shard at her opponent but he batted it away easily.

"Hey, Alex!" She called, though her opponent showed no sign he'd heard her. Just then an idea popped into her head and she nodded. The pitch of her antennae changed, becoming a high-pitched, ear-splitting noise. ' _I just need one opening to beat him.'_ It took all of her concentration to keep the noise going as she simultaneously had to focus on dodging her opponent's attacks. After a few moments, her breathing started to become unsteady as the pain in her chest was nearly unbearable. A split second of hesitation was all it took for her opponent to land a punch to her gut and send her sprawling to the floor. Even though he hadn't made direct contact with her ribs the pain caused the edges of her vision to go black.

"Just give it up," Alexander demanded, pointing his working hand cannon at her, the mouth of its dragon design glowing a bright yellow. With a cry, Andi kicked upwards and knocked the cannon away before leaping at her foe, trying to tackle him. The only problem; she didn't quite have the strength necessary to do so, and Alexander was bigger and heavier than she was, so it turned into more of a hug than an attack. He quickly shoved her away and took a step back. Suddenly, the boy grimaced and shook his head, making his dark brown hair even more untidy. ' _Now!'_

"Paralytic Frequency!" Andi cried. Alexander grunted in surprise as his eardrums were plagued by a low-pitched hum and his legs began to shake violently. ' _I'm not done yet!'_

"Activating Lightning Core: Electric Misery!" He bellowed. Tendrils of electricity shot from his arm right into Andi, who shrieked in pain. To his surprise, despite the fact that she was being electrocuted, the girl's frequency continued. His attack abruptly stopped as he fell to his knees, his legs having lost all motor control. Finally, his good arm – the other having been broken by the explosion – fell to his side, unmoving. Not too far away, Andi whimpered and slumped against the partially destroyed chimney, her adrenalin finally wearing off. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt up until now, robbing her from precious air, threatening to make her faint. The two combatants, both unable to move from their respective position, stared at one another for a moment, unblinking. Then, just as Ms. Whittaker stepped over the rubble and joined the two, Andi's eyes seemed to lose focus and she collapsed.

"Inferno and Megahertz are down! The last team moving on to the Final Eight is Canadian Winter and Metal Hydra!"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Little late but I lost track of time. Hope you guys enjoyed, the next chapter will focus on some character moments before we hop into the third round. On to the final 8!**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 40: Third Round Bound**

 **Q &A, featuring Diana Suharto**

 **To Diana: How do you wear your shirt with your long snout?**

 _ **Diana**_ **:** _I just usually have to tip my head up or down to get my shirt over my snout. Most of my tops have really elastic collars anyway so it isn't as big of an issue as you'd think._

 **To Diana: Is your whole family varanid mutations (komodo dragons and other monitor lizards) like you, or are there other reptile groups in the mix?**

 _ **Diana**_ **:** _Well, most of my family has been monitor lizards for the past few generations. I think the only exception is my first cousin whose father was some sort of serpent. She's really cool though, but I hardly ever see her these days._

 **To Diana: Have you ever been nervous about kissing someone and accidentally passing venom onto them because of your Quirk?**

 _ **Diana:**_ _Y-Yeah, that's a big concern of mine. My parents are largely okay but that's because my mom's Quirk makes her immune to most poisons._

 **To Diana: How do you handle the winter times?**

 _ **Diana:**_ _Wear multiple layers. Wool is my best friend in the cold months._

 **To everyone: in a parallel world if you where a villain what would your villain name be?**

 _ **Diana:**_ _That's a good question. The kids at my middle school teased me by calling me 'Punk Croc' but that's just because they thought I was a crocodile._

 **To everyone: Realistically, can you keep a small child alive for a week, without direct interference?**

 _ **Diana:**_ _Of course! I love children. Back in middle school, I used to tutor the little ones at the daycare across the street when school let out! They're such funny little dorks._


	41. Chapter 40: Third Round Bound

"Thank goodness you're okay. You had me worried there for a bit."

"I had myself worried. I could've really hurt her," Narruk said bitterly, not meeting Melody's eyes. The boy was no worse for wear, though his eyes betrayed just how tired and angry he was. The redhead smiled softly and patted his knee through the thin, white blanket.

"It's okay. This just means we have to try harder in our methods to contain _Him_. Meditation obviously didn't work, hm… maybe yoga or some other type of exercise around the full moon? Should probably throw in some games that can strengthen your mind. Maybe you could go a few rounds of chess against Oliver?" Narruk chuckled and held up his hands.

"Thanks but I'd rather not lose all of my credibility. He'd wipe the floor with me."

"That's not the point. If it makes you feel better, you could always face Marcus. He plays just as often but isn't anywhere as good. Besides, winning or losing doesn't matter. We have to get your mental stability up," Melody explained, leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling. ' _Everything we tried over the past month turned out to be utterly useless. This just means I have to try harder. Seeing him lose control today… someone has to help him before 'Alpha' takes over completely.'_ As she was lost in thought, the brunet shook his head and feigned offense.

"Are you calling me mentally unstable, Melody? And here I was thinking you were my friend." As the redhead opened her mouth to respond, her ears picked up on an odd noise rising above the usual din of the infirmary. It was faint but it sounded like… crying. "Mel?"

"Oh! Sorry, I thought I heard something. Anyway, Lyon's fight is coming up, how do you think he and Andi are gonna do? Out of our class's top five students, only Clara is left. The hierarchy is in shambles. You should be ashamed, losing to those beneath you," Melody chastised, waving her finger in the air. Narruk barked out a laugh.

"I seem to remember you taking out one of those five. As for Lyon, this fight will be difficult for the both of them. They've already had to face the number two in our class _and_ now they're facing the number three in FH1 with only a few hours rest and a badly injured teammate. Lyon is insanely strong and intelligent, but even he has his limits." At that moment, the curtains were swept aside and a haggard-looking Nurse Holl stepped in. She gave one look at Narruk's seated position and frowned. In a flash, the boy flopped back onto his bed and gave the woman an apologetic smile. ' _Even Narruk fears the nurse's wrath,'_ Melody thought sardonically.

"Mr. Mondronen, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. However, there are a few more tests that I need to run before you get a clean bill of health. Don't think I don't see you disobeying my orders either, Ms. Halloway. Bed, now," Leena said firmly. Melody shrank slightly under her disapproving gaze and stood. She said goodbye to Narruk and started walking towards the curtain. ' _I don't see why I have to_ _stay in bed any longer_ _. I feel fine. My head doesn't even hurt anymore,'_ Melody thought, wishing she could be back at the dorms with the rest of her classmates. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice that instead of stepping into the main part of the infirmary, she stepped into a cramped hallway, marred by burns. The beeps and general sounds of dismay from machines and fellow inhabitants were replaced by a very eerie silence. Melody was finally brought back to the present by the crunch of wood under her feet and the acrid smell of smoke permeating the air.

"What is this?" She muttered shakily. She quickly turned back to face the way she'd come, only to come face to face with a wall, its ornate wallpaper shriveled and blackened. "Narruk? Mrs. Holl?" There was no answer. A chill ran down her spine as the hallway became more and more familiar. Her breathing quickened and she clenched her fists, her nails pressing tightly into her palms. ' _Not again,'_ she thought. She glanced towards either end of the hallway and gulped. At one end, there was a heavy wooden door, slightly ajar with a thin strip of light emanating from within the room. At the other end… nothing. The ceiling had apparently collapsed, blocking her only other exit. Her feet moved on their own accord, carrying her against her will towards the open door.

The room was exactly as it appeared every night. Like the hallway, the walls were covered in black burns while a heavy layer of ash settled on the carpet, creating small clouds with each step Melody took. Along with the ash, there were several scorched objects lying on the floor, seemingly at random. It wasn't hard to make out the twisted All-Might action figure or the melted remains of a rocking horse. As soon as she took a step inside, her eyes instinctively moved to the closet. ' _I don't want to see this. Please,'_ she thought desperately as her arm reached out and grabbed the handle. With seemingly no control over her actions, Melody watched as the door creaked open, a thick black mist swirling around her feet.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"AH!" Melody awoke violently. Her eyes snapped open and she pitched forward, trying to sit up, only for her head to slam into something very dense. In the back of her mind, while the rest tried to adjust to her abrupt awakening, she registered hearing a pained cry from a voice not her own. While her hands immediately went to her forehead, which no doubt would have a new bump after that, she glanced around her arms and saw a flash of pink. Once her mind caught up to her body, she recognized the girl that knelt at her bedside, holding her chin and whimpering in pain. "Shaula?"

"You have a hard head, Halloway!" The girl complained as she massaged her jaw. Upon closer inspection, Melody noticed that the girl, much like herself, was covered in bandages and bruises. Most apparent, however, was the over-sized bandaid on the bulbous head of her scorpion-like tail.

 **U.S.A.E.I Third Year: Shaula Newton**

 **Her Quirk: Scorpion**

 **Shaula has the tail of a scorpion that she can control like a fifth limb. Watch out for the stinger, though, her poison is very strong!**

"Sorry about that," Melody said bashfully. The pinkette blinked before smiling and waving off her concern.

"No, no, no. I shouldn't have been leaning over you like that. You were kinda talking in your sleep and looked pretty spooked. I was a bit worried," Shaula explained. The redhead nodded and glanced around the room, trying to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. Instead of smoke and burning flesh, she smelled antiseptic and Shaula's bubblegum-scented perfume. While the infirmary wasn't completely silent like the hallway, it was much more muted than it had been when she'd first fallen asleep.

"What time is it?" Shaula frowned and pulled out her cellphone, which was guarded by a very vibrant ladybug case. She glanced at the screen for a moment before her expression turned to one of exhaustion.

"It's like… one in the morning. I really~ should get going soon. Why did so many of you girls have to go and get hurt? Thank goodness I don't have to fight again tomorrow," Shaula said, putting her phone away and leaning back in her chair.

"Is everyone else alright? What about Narruk?" Melody asked quickly, remembering how she'd been barred from seeing her friend earlier in the day. Shaula grinned and gave the redhead a thumbs up.

"Everyone should be a-okay! Rune checked on the boys earlier but he fell asleep in one of the empty cots. I swear he's so scatterbrained. I'll never understand how he can flip the switch from complete doofus to utter heartthrob in like, two seconds. Oh… uh, anyway Narruk is fine. Thanks to Mrs. Holl and Merciful he's gonna make a full recovery," Shaula explained, though Melody couldn't help but notice her face had gone slightly redder when she mentioned Rune. ' _He's the one Nathan is always complaining about for falling asleep and levitating things, isn't he?'_ she thought. Then, her eyes widened as she fully processed the other girl's words.

"Merciful as in The Saving Grace Hero? What's he doing here?"

"Well, the Halloween Festival has a reputation for being a bit violent, so the Forge brings in doctors and Heroes from all over the United States for the weekend. Mrs. Holl is still one of the best out there but even she needs help at times. Gauze is the one who wrapped me up after Hector had his bees sting me. Oh? You alright, Halloway?" Shaula asked. The redhead's face, upon mention of the stoic upperclassman, immediately went white and her hands clutched her blanket a little more tightly.

"Y-Yeah, completely fine. No worries here!" She said a little too quickly. Shaula raised an eyebrow at the younger girl's odd behavior but shrugged and reached down for the duffle bag sitting beside her chair.

"Anywho, you're the last one I've gotta see. I just wanted to make sure you were alright, nightmares are never fun after all."

"Wasn't a nightmare," Melody interrupted, though the crack in her voice clearly showed otherwise. Shaula rolled her eyes, muttering something about 'stubborn freshie' as she dug around in the duffle bag.

"Aha! Here you go, sorry if the frosting is messed up. Zuny and Ovol were in charge of the decorating and their styles are a bit conflicting," the pinkette said, handing Melody a cupcake wrapped in saran wrap. Immediately, she could tell what her upperclassman meant about the frosting being messed up. It looked as if there were several layers of the stuff as if the decorators had just put a different layer on top of each previous one. ' _Those two are always fighting. They're like more violent versions of Eris and Alex.'_

"Thank you, and tell them thanks as well."

"Not a problem. To be honest, I was expecting to have to do a lot more comforting. I remember how inconsolable I was when I lost in my freshman year. It seems like most of the girls took their defeats or injuries like champs! Even Ena and she was in the worst shape of anyone. She seemed more concerned with Merciful's Quirk than she was about her own loss." Melody froze and looked up from her cupcake, her eyes wide.

"Does that mean… Andi and Lyon lost?"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"You are completely deranged!"

"Not so loud, please. I'd rather you didn't wake up the whole dorm," Alexander whispered. In all honesty, he should have expected this. His sister never had been the type to react rationally or calmly to any given situation. Eris looked at him as if he'd grown a third head before growling and throwing her hands in the air.

"I don't care! You're an idiot! For once in your life just take a freakin' 'W' and not complain! Do you think anyone else besides you cares that you couldn't move? You outlasted Andi! You _beat_ Lyon! No one else has even come close to doing that this year!" The girl shouted. Alexander sighed and glanced up at the side of the building, noticing that in a few of the still-lit rooms, shadows had begun to appear. ' _Great, now we have an audience.'_

"Actually, Clara beat him in the relay race."

"That doesn't count! She practically flashed him! Any guy would be thrown off their game by those things!" Eris, crude as ever, retorted. Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"Look, the fact of the matter is that fight should've been called a draw. Both Andi and I were unable to continue fighting. It doesn't matter that I was still conscious, I was completely paralyzed by her Quirk. As for me beating Lyon, he was at half his normal power. One of his hands was literally shattered in his earlier match, Eris! Andi had broken ribs! There's no reason the snowflake idiot and I should have won that match. The odds were stacked so heavily in our favor it's amazing it came down to a stare-off." He'd been expecting his sister to fire back with another insult or backhanded compliment, they were her specialty after all. Instead, to his surprise, his sister's expression turned soft.

"Alex… you're an idiot." The teen was about to argue but his sister surprised him once again by throwing her arms around him. For a moment, he stood frozen in bemusement before returning the gesture. "We've got a new chance here, away from him. Let yourself take pride in what you've done. I know it's hard, but this is our chance to reinvent ourselves. We can let the past die, be who we want to be. We don't have to deal with him again until summer break and even then we'll spend every other weekend on our internships. Lighten up a bit, okay?"

"Eris…"

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Texting your boyfriend?" Benji asked gleefully, leaning over Kira's shoulder to get a better look at her phone. The girl scowled and threw her head back, slamming it into his shoulder and making him yelp in pain. ' _Whose idea was it to have a party tonight? And in the boy's dorm of all places. Half of these people should be resting for tomorrow, not staying up until three in the morning,'_ she thought, glancing around the crowded communal area. Every student not in the infirmary had been summoned to the boy's dorm for what the student council president and vice president called a 'school tradition'.

"Piss off pervert," Kira growled, turning off her phone and slipping it into her pocket. Benji seemed to deflate at this and stalked away muttering about how he was a 'lady's man' and not a pervert. The girl sighed and ignored him, instead turning her attention toward the rambunctious crowd. From her isolated corner, she had a pretty good vantage point of her upperclassmen – it looked as if the majority of her year had already retired for the night or followed her lead and scattered to the less densely populated areas of the room – acting as if they'd not just fought one another into submission just hours before. ' _It's like they don't even care that there are more fights tomorrow. Seems like an odd tradition to have a party in the middle of the tournament.'_

"Standin' all alone, are we? Y'know it's alright to join in the fun. Teachers don't exactly approve but at this point, most of them have decided to turn a blind eye." Kira jumped and fell over at the sudden voice beside her. After getting to her feet, she glared at the much taller boy, who just grinned down at her. "Sorry 'bout that. Hector says I have a bad habit of just appearing outta nowhere like that. Although, this is the first time I've made someone fall over outta fright."

"What do you want?" Kira asked tiredly. The boy grinned at her and shrugged, his long bleached blond hair tucked underneath a felt cowboy hat.

"Looked like you were feelin' a bit left out. Well… not just you. All you freshies are bein' way too tense, loosen up a little. Ain't no better time than the Halloween Party. Would've been better if the council hadn't shot down my costume party idea. I swear, if I had known how annoyin' dealin' with the student council would've been, I'd never have run for president. I'm not one for bureaucratic nonsense and they take it pretty seriously around here," the boy griped. Kira's eyes lit up in recognition and she gasped.

"You're the dude from the entrance exam!" Dominick nodded and patted the girl on the back.

"Good to see you haven't stopped fallin' over yourself in the past few months. Though I hear you've caused quite a bit of damage in the girl's dorm. It true you lit the kitchen on fire?" Kira froze and blushed as she remembered the incident from just over a month ago. Why Melody had thought it was a good idea to try and teach her to cook was beyond her. Granted, they'd gotten a look into Melody's personal life which had been nice.

"It was an accident!"

"Don't you worry, I've seen plenty worse. My first year, this room was immaculate! Really expensive furniture, some real artsy vases and paintings, and a good T.V. By the time our first Halloween Festival rolled around, classmate of mine with a real bad case of narcolepsy and some uber strong psychic powers had broken almost everything in his sleep," Dominick said, shaking his head at the memory. He was silent for a moment before he realized Kira was still standing beside him. He coughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, I've been goin' around tellin' all you freshies to relax a bit. I know this ain't really the best time to have a party when you first think about it but it's been a tradition since before we were even thought of. The whole point of throwin' this thing is to show we're still unified. A really grandiose way of sayin' 'no hard feelings', if that makes any sense."

"But you guys have even more to worry about than we do. The Pros are paying extra attention and scouting you guys for when you graduate. How are you not extremely nervous that you haven't proven yourself or angry that you might've blown your chance?" Kira asked, a hint of desperation leaking into her voice. Frankly, the idea of a party to bring people together when they'd normally be stressing over their next battle or angry at their classmates for beating them made a ton of sense. What vexed her was how carefree her upperclassmen, who were already under far more pressure to perform to the best of their abilities, were able to act so carefree under the circumstances. Dominick seemed to pick up on this and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Being a Professional Hero ain't a cakewalk. I can one hundred percent guarantee you that every person in this room feels some sort of stress over their own results or even resentment towards their classmates over theirs. There's a very good reason that only sixty percent of the Forge's graduates go on to be sidekicks, and only a third of them go on to be independent. This ain't a career for the faint of heart. At some point, you gotta decide if bein' a Hero is right for you," Dominick said seriously, his carefree smile dropping for a brief moment before returning in full force. He shoved Kira out of her corner and winked at her. "Hell, you got more time than most of us. Forget about the stress, forget about losing and just enjoy the night while it lasts. I'm sure Mr. Holl is gonna lay into all of y'all after the tournament's done anyway so better enjoy your time off while you can."

"Dom!" Before Kira could realize what was happening, a tornado of pink swept through the crowd of people and stomped up to Dominick, whose eyes widened and frantically looked around for an escape. Unfortunately for him, he could only take a step towards a nearby window before the stinger of Shaula's tail appeared just inches from his nose. "You weren't going to sneak out before apologizing, were you?"

"Actually, I was sneaking out _to_ go and apologize to you. Look, I'm still masterin' long-distance transportation, I didn't mean to land you in the harbor." Shaula narrowed her eyes at him before harrumphing and lowering her tail. The blond let out the breath he'd been holding and took a step away from his classmate.

"You. Ruined. My. Costume!"

"The support team'll have it fixed in like a week! No big deal. Besides, maybe you should blame Hector for not watchin' your back," Dominick said hastily. Kira stared at the two in bemusement as they went back and forth before she noticed the person standing at the edge of the crowd Shaula had broken through.

"Mel?" The redhead, also apparently having been fixated on the exchange, blinked a few times and then looked over at her with tired eyes. ' _Why isn't she in the infirmary?'_

"Hey, Kira. Why exactly is there a party going on at two in the morning?" Kira sighed and told her the same explanation Dominick had given to her. After hearing it, Melody shrugged and glanced towards the door longingly. "Makes sense, I suppose. Is this mandatory or can I go back to the dorm and sleep?"

"I second that." As their upperclassmen continued to argue, Kira and Melody pushed their way through the crowd towards the front door. Once there, they nearly walked straight into Alexander as he entered. He gave them a once-over before walking past as if they didn't exist and turning down one of the side hallways, presumably heading off to his room. "He looked sad…"

"Maybe Eris will know why?" Melody suggested with a yawn. The two were silent on the short walk back to the girl's dorm, the sounds of the party slowly fading with every step. As soon as they stepped inside the front hall, they were greeted by the baleful glare of Clara, dressed in a tank top that showed off the extensive bandages from the day's battles. "Aren't you supposed to still be in the infirmary?"

"Go to hell, crybaby. You're supposed to be there too," she snarled before stomping off down the hall.

"At least she wasn't as loud as usual. Poor thing must be tired," Kira said mockingly. Melody noticed Clara tense up and for a moment feared that the entirety of the female student body that wasn't at the party or in the infirmary would be rudely awoken. However, Clara stopped bristling and stalked off towards her room. Once she was out of sight, Kira hummed thoughtfully. "If I didn't know any better I'd say the invincible Clara isn't all that invincible, eh?"

"Probably just tired. Shaula had to beg Mrs. Holl to let me leave even though I'm practically fine. She must've snuck out at some point after I left," Melody replied with a shrug. Deciding to put the mystery of Clara aside, the two girls bid each other goodnight and retreated to their respective rooms. When she collapsed into her small bed, Melody was convinced it had never felt more comfortable. She pulled out her cellphone and checked it for anything important she may have missed during the tournament but other than a few missed calls from her dad, its only real use was setting an alarm for the next morning. Despite her nervousness, Melody only stayed awake another few minutes before she drifted into a pleasant, dreamless sleep.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"HELLO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Nathan flinched at the loud screech of the speakers as Oddball screamed into his microphone. ' _This guy has issues. Don't know why he's Mel's favorite,'_ he thought to himself, glancing over his shoulder at the redhead who was currently in a conversation with Payton – something that worried him greatly for multiple reasons – and Sirius, who was trying to act normal, which was difficult with Clara leaning against the wall behind him. Further back in the cramped hallway, Alexander, Oliver, and Damien stood silently awaiting the announcement of the first battle. "Oh fine, you take the fun out of everything Derrick. Anyway, welcome folks to day two of this year's Halloween Festival. LOOK AT THIS TURNOUT! EVERYONE WANTS TO SEE SOME ACTION!"

"Does he have to scream? Our ears get damaged enough with loud mouth around," Oliver said dryly. Usually, this would be enough to get a rise out of the hot-headed teen but surprisingly her expression didn't budge.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah fine. Anyway, things are gonna run a lot differently than they did yesterday. Today, we're following _my_ lead! As some of you know, going into the first and second rounds our contestants knew exactly who they were going to be fighting, giving them a week to prepare and gather information on their enemies. THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE IN THE HERO WORLD! You've gotta be able to think on your feet to defeat any enemy that can cross your way! Therefore, today's bracket… will be decided match by match completely at random!" Nathan glanced out from behind the bars at the large video screens positioned above the stands on all four sides of the arena. The monitors were currently displaying headshots of all eight remaining competitors.

"So no matter what we never have any idea who we're fighting?" Melody questioned. Payton shrugged, seemingly unphased by the information.

"Eh, like he said. Heroes don't always know what type of villain they're gonna go up against, so it makes sense. Besides, as the rounds go there'll be less and less of us so we should have a pretty good idea at that point who we're going up against."

"That's assuming you make it that far, weather boy," Nathan taunted, causing Payton to pout and grumble something that sounded suspiciously like 'furball'. Outside of the tunnel, the crowd began to cheer as the pictures of the competitors disappeared and were replaced by two blank squares. "It's starting."

"NOW THEN! Let's get our first fight underway! Who's it gonna be? I can hardly wait!" Oddball announced, his cackling reverberating through the air. When the selection process began, the two boxes became a blur of faces. ' _It's like a slot machine. Leave it to the Gambling Hero to make his mark somewhere on the tournament.'_ There was a loud ding and the first box became outlined in red as the flurry of faces stopped on one.

"Alright!" Nathan exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air and laughing. "We're starting this round on a high note, losers! You get to watch the best member of our year's top three claw someone's eyes out!"

"You're a dork," Melody said bluntly, giving her friend a deadpan stare. This made Nathan deflate slightly and turn to Payton for support. Of course, his friend childishly stuck out his tongue and leaned around him to get a better view of the board. He was tempted to push the boy over out of spite but stopped when Payton's gleeful expression turned to one of surprise and then pity as the two met eyes. "You've got to be joking."

"And the first match of the Final Eight will be between the Big Cat Hero: Leo and the Ghost Hero: Scarlette Phantom!"

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 _ **Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero!**_

 _ **Chapter 41: Til the End of the Line**_

 _ **This week's Q &A: Hazel Camellia Aria **_

**Q: What's your net worth?**

 _Hazel: Why, zero of course! Mama and papa are the ones who are actually working. It wouldn't be proper for me to lay claim on our family's wealth when I haven't worked for it, wouldn't it? The money is not technically mine... Yet. But if you must know... Enough for me to have a more comfortable lifestyle than the average girl, I suppose._

 **Q: Do you catch yourself doing the ojou-sama laugh?**

 _Hazel: Oh dear, I don't think so? I might have when I was younger. Goodness, that must have been quite annoying,_

 **Q: What's your favorite Sport:**

 _Hazel: I might be biased, but Gymnastics! The floor is the event I look forward to the most. But, there is always something nerve-wracking about the balance beams._

 **Q: What's your impression of the class? Who do you want to fight? Who do you NOT want to fight?**

 _Hazel: Hmm... I think they're people who have a lot of potential. Each of them are... Interesting, in their own way. I've met more annoying people so I don't really feel negative about them! Of course, I think everyone would like to try their hand at fighting the top of the class. As for someone I do not want to fight... I think Clara. She's a bit too aggressive, and I don' t think she'll hold back even during a friendly spar_

 **Q: Who's your Favorite hero?**

 _Hazel: I do not think I have a favorite. All of them are amazing at their own right. But Mr. Oddball is very amusing to follow._

 **Q: What's your favourite kind of music?**

 _Hazel: I cannot say that I have a favorite. I usually just listen to a handful of songs from a variety of bands..._

 _But a genre that I always put on as a habit is classical music. Tchaikovsky, Saint-seans, Prokofiev... All of which produce melodies that still stand even today! One I would find myself replaying is definitely Ravel's Bolero"_

 _Oh... Um... But... There's this... ONE song that I like... It's my grandmother's favorite and I listen to it a lot too, it helps calm me down. B-but it's not in English so mentioning it would be... Redundant..._

 **Q: Did you dye your hair or is it natural?**

 _Hazel: Natural! I don't think I'll dye my hair anytime soon. Maybe when I am of age_

 **Q: Who is best girl?**

 _Hazel: Ah, I've heard this concept of" best girl" before. If it is between my classmates... Well, I don't really have an opinion yet. Apologies!_

 **Q: How fast can you go when you use your quirk?**

 _Hazel: My speed...?... Hmm, it depends. The faster my natural speed is, the faster I will be when my quirk activates._

 **Q: Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?**

 _Hazel: Hahaha! That would be funny. The attention would be flattering, but the people can get zealous. So I would probably have to think really really hard to start one._

 **Q: Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?**

 _Hazel: Well, I'd like to be more capable at self-defense. And be more useful combat wise._

 **Q: Any Fashion Advice?**

 _Hazel: Something I always feel is important is to dress neatly. And to make sure you make a good first impression! Other than that, it's all about the confidence you pull into your look._

 **Q: Have you ever been kicked in the groin?**

 _Hazel: Heavens no. And I hope I never will. I heard it can be very painful and damaging..._

 **Q: Is your family Yakuza/Mafia?**

 _Hazel: Goodness gracious no! Both my parents have pretty normal jobs, actually! High paying ones, but normal. I assure you. My extended family also have normal jobs as well._

 **Q: Hoo? You're approaching me?**

 _Hazel: Well. There's no reason for a tactical retreat right now._

 **Q: Who is Best Boy?**

 _Hazel: ...I want so say Nathan because I like cats. But it would not be healthy for me_

 **Q: Can you keep a small child alive for a week without direct interference?**

 _Hazel: oh...I probably can't last a week. I don't have much experience in children as is. Maybe overnight before things get stressful. I might be able to go longer if the child has a mild temperament._

 **Q: It's Karaoke Night, what are you singing?**

 _Hazel: ... Probably something recently popular. I never really gone to those kind of places. Mama always enjoyed me singing some old songs that she used to listen to as a girl... She said it helps my pronunciation to be more natural sounding._

 **Q: How many in the class call her midget:**

 _Hazel: Well... Quite a few of them did notice my height. But they have not said that in a demeaning way. And I am pretty petite. But that's just a genetic thing._


	42. Chapter 41: Til the End of the Line

Andi gazed upon the stadium as the sound of thousands of people roared in anticipation of the upcoming match. If possible, it seemed as the crowd had tripled in size compared to the day before. From her vantage point in the student's box – which was just above the first ring of stadium-style seating – she couldn't see a single open seat and with the increased number of people, came even more noise that battered her eardrums worse than any of Clara's screeches. The excitement in the air, not only from the crowd but her fellow students as well, was almost palpable. Nearly every student from their year had arrived, as well as a few upperclassmen who'd been eliminated from their own tournament. The only notable exceptions were the competitors and Narruk, who was still in critical condition when Andi had been released earlier that morning. "Jeez, this place is electric. Watching it on T.V. is nowhere close to seeing this in person," Kira remarked as she leaned over the railing to get a better view. Luckily, Diana appeared to have been paying enough attention to stop her from falling out of their suite.

"Please be more careful, Kira," the reptilian said. Kira reddened slightly and sheepishly sat back down, though it was clear her enthusiasm hadn't diminished.

"Sorry, it's just… how insane is this? There's gotta be a hundred thousand people here!" The girl said excitedly.

"I believe the stadium has a capacity of 107,686 not including the suites," Andi added. Behind her, Eris whistled appreciatively. The brunette was leaning back in her chair, with her feet propped up on either side of Andi's head, and a plate of hors d'oeuvres from the suite's buffet sat on her lap.

"There's more people here than in the town Alex and I grew up in."

"Speaking of Alex, he looked pretty annoyed when we ran into him last night and a little birdie told me you two were shouting at each other. Everything alright?" Kira inquired, to which Eris snorted and waved her hand.

"We're fine. Idiot has it in his head he doesn't deserve to be in the finals. Anyway, I don't wanna talk about that. Mel and cat-boy, they're childhood friends, right? Anything going on there?" The very quick change of subject did not go unnoticed but to Eris' relief, her classmates didn't call her out on it.

"Is gossip all you ever think about?" Kira asked, rolling her eyes.

"Not _all_ I think about." At the disbelieving looks she got from her classmates, the girl growled and flipped them off before responding. "Fine then, who do you think is gonna win? Mel's tough but that guy's ranked what, third in our year? Moxie only gets you so far."

"I hate to say it but Nathan has a pretty big advantage in this one. His speed alone would be hard for Melody to go up against but throw in the fact that he's got that super move and her odds don't look very good," Andi explained, her brow furrowed in thought. Even Kira frowned, troubled by the question.

"The odds are definitely not in her favor."

 _Purpose of a Hero_

It seemed disconcerting to Sirius how the preparation room's mood had done a complete one-eighty from the competitive, fairly jovial atmosphere the previous day, to one of tension, anticipation and, in his case, doubt. He felt like an outsider while he was waiting in the tunnel with the rest of the group and there was no denying that he was the weakest link left in the tournament. This revelation made the mood shift all the more apparent and made his anxiety skyrocket. And yet, the change, for all it affected him, seemed to be completely nonexistent to Melody. Since that morning, when she'd struck up a one-sided conversation with him as they waited in the tunnel, it seemed as if the redhead was more… eager than anything else. It was unlike anything he'd seen from her over the course of their first semester.

Once the match had been announced, her excitement only seemed to increase. She went through her pre-match stretches and checked over her equipment, which was mostly limited to the uncomfortable looking goggles that hung around her neck, with a pep in her step. He could have sworn he'd even heard her humming at one point. Finally, with half of the ten minutes of allotted preparation time gone, he spoke up. "You're taking this awfully well. Is everything alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, why?" The girl replied as she began stretching out her arms.

"I mean, you seem perfectly normal for someone about to fight in front of the entire world." To his surprise, Melody smiled.

"We did yesterday too but I get what you're saying. I'm sure if I was fighting anyone else, I'd be a nervous wreck right now. With Nathan, well… it's different. Just another one of our spars, only this time we'll be going at each other full strength. The nerves are there, just overpowered by excitement. I finally get the chance to get back at him for last time," she said, a shockingly dark look in her eyes that made Sirius shiver.

"W-What happened last time?"

"We were nine and, being stupid kids, we made a bet on one of our sparring matches. The loser had to be the winner's slave for a month. Let's just say not only did he embarrass me in front of our dads but the month following was a particularly dark part of my childhood." The teen had a haunted look on her face as she began lunging to stretch out her legs. As she went through her exercises, her mind drifted back to their last fight.

In reality, it was both a blessing and a curse that Nathan was forced into using _Beast Mimicry_ in their last match. On one hand, she wouldn't be caught off guard by it but on the other, there was a chance he would have more control over it if he decided to use it in their fight. ' _His speed is already gonna be difficult to go up against but dad's training prepared me for this. Even with the nurse's efforts, he's surely still a bit sore from Marcus' attack yesterday, which should slow him down_ _a bunch._ _Granted... I'm not in that much better of a situation,'_ she thought grimly. Ever since she'd woken up that morning, there'd been a constant throb in the back of her head and a hollow feeling in her chest. The migraine pills Mrs. Holl had given her earlier in the semester had done little to stop the chest pains but had dulled the headache to the point that she could ignore it, which is what she fully intended to do.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

The first thing that caught Nathan by surprise as he exited the tunnel was the field. It was much, much smaller than it had been the day before – less than a third of the size – and there seemed to be no theme to it, just a simple dirt field with white chalk lines drawn as boundaries. ' _Guess they don't want the ranged fighters having too big of an advantage. No cover, though. Mid and short-ranged fighters are going to be the bread and butter of this round it seems. Tough luck for Payton. His attacks are way too spread out, so they'll be less effective on a smaller stage. Less maneuverability as well. This'll make it hard to get up to top speed,'_ he thought, somewhat annoyed at the prospect. The next surprise came when he saw his opponent. Standing his opposite and _grinning_ at him. ' _Looks like she noticed too. This is gonna be fun.'_ As their names were announced, he smirked at the girl across from him and cracked his neck.

Once the fight had officially begun, Nathan flexed his fingers, causing his claw to elongate, and dashed across the field towards Melody. As he'd expected, his first attack was easily negated by his foe shifting into her Wraith Form, but to his surprise Melody just as easily ducked beneath his followup flying kick and hopped back to put some distance between them. Meanwhile, a sudden pain in his lower back caused Nathan to stumble on his landing and grimace. He silently cursed Marcus, whose final attack the day before had left his back in tatters. He straightened up as best as he could before turning to Melody.

"Gotta say, I was hoping we'd meet up later in the tournament, Scarlette, not starting the damned thing."

"Best to get it out of the way quickly. This way I get more time to rest before my next fight." Melody knew he was stalling, Nathan was sure of it. ' _She always knows. I could have a cold and she'd know it before I did.'_

"Getting a bit overconfident, are we? How about a friendly wager then?" The redhead rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No thanks, I've already got Benji as a slave. Don't really need another one," she said. Nathan twisted his upper body from side to side a few times, making sure he still had partial mobility and crouched into his fighting stance. Across the field, Melody did the same and when his next attack came, she very easily shifted into her Wraith. Unlike last time, however, he pressed his attack, swiping through her ghostly visage, again and again, trying to outlast her. ' _I can't keep this up forever. Just look for an opening and get close, remember dad's training,'_ Melody thought as she backpedaled, trying to put some distance between them, though he pursued her every step of the way. After a few moments of this, the redhead saw her opening. While Nathan's fighting style was generally pretty hard for people to read, due in part to his speed, experience fighting against him for so many years made even the smallest mistakes stand out.

The blond had overcommitted to one of his attacks, overextending himself and making his attack a split-second slower, which Melody took full advantage of. She leaped straight through his body – which tensed due to the chill her Wraith gave off – and phased back to normal once she was behind him. Even as he tried to turn towards her, she snaked her arms underneath his and linked her fingers together behind his neck. If it weren't for his inhuman reflexes, she would have succeeded in sweeping his legs out from under him. Even though it nearly popped his own shoulders out of their sockets, he pitched forward with all his might, lifting the much lighter Melody off her feet and sending both of them sprawling onto the dirt.

Nathan, being just quicker, rolled onto all fours and pounced at Melody, who'd only just started trying to get up. Before she had a chance to react, he grabbed one of the arms she was using to prop herself up and twisted it behind her back. The redhead grunted as her opponent used his leverage to slam her face-first into the dirt. Fortunately, she managed to activate her Quirk before he could do much else and sank into the field. Once completely submerged and able to shift back, she let out a sigh and slumped with her back against the railing of the maintenance walkway she'd landed on. ' _This is going better than our last fight, that's for sure. The idiot's obviously more injured than he let on, it looks like his back is messed up. That explains why he's moving so slowly. I doubt he's gonna be able to use Beast Mimicry in this state… so much for fighting at full strength.'_

Meanwhile, on the surface, Nathan shut his eyes and tried his best to tune out the noise of the crowd. He knew this trick all too well, considering how often she'd tried it. Even before the tournament, Melody's whole schtick when fighting him was to use her surroundings to try to catch him off guard, though thanks to his Quirk it was largely ineffective. This time, however, the crowd – which even when largely muted still made enough noise to make his head hurt – put the ball in her court. Then, his nose twitched and he whipped around just in time for her foot to connect with his cheek, throwing him to the ground. He was back on his feet just seconds later and managed to block the girl's right hook, answering with his own that would have connected if not for her Quirk. At the exact moment his fist phased through her she transformed back to her normal state and attempted to drive her knee into his stomach. Nathan took the blow in stride and responded by driving his other elbow down on Melody's shoulder.

"Come on, Mel. I know you can do better," Nathan taunted. Melody grimaced and backed away from her friend, who looked slightly more annoyed than injured from her attack. On the other hand, her shoulder began to ache almost immediately after his attack. She'd forgotten that despite his main advantage being speed, his durability was leagues above her own. He could take almost any hit she threw at him and use her proximity to get a counter off before she could activate her Wraith.

"Shut it, furball," she replied, wincing as a sharp pain in her head made her vision temporarily darken. Thankfully, if Nathan noticed he chose not to comment. The feline's eyes were narrowed as he began prowling at a distance just out of her reach and perfect for pouncing. ' _Remember. Get in close. I can't use my Quirk much more or I'll be crippled in my next fight. If I can get him moving, maybe I can disrupt his back a bit more.'_ Then, as she'd expected, he launched himself towards her. An idea struck her and she transformed just as he would have reached her, causing him to go right through her and skid to a stop. Hearing a footstep very close behind him, Nathan whipped around. This turned out to be a mistake as his back caught fire at the suddenness of the action. He watched as Melody, unexpectedly, passed right through his body a second time.

"Shit!" He growled before turning once again, this time a bit slower, just in time to see Melody bearing down on him. Without any hesitation, the much smaller girl used her size to jump slightly and headbutt him in the chin. Nathan's teeth clacked together and he swore before grabbing a handful of the girl's hair and tossing her to the ground. Still seemingly unperturbed the redhead leaped at him once again and slammed her shoulder into his stomach, while her arms wrapped around his back and squeezed. Nathan couldn't help but cry out as his already injured back was further brutalized. As Melody had thrown her full body weight into the tackle, the blond couldn't keep his footing and both combatants fell to the dirt. Once they'd fallen, the girl was slow to let go which gave Nathan an opening to bring up his legs and forcefully kick her off of him. Even though he'd gotten to his feet first, his opponent was able to make the first move.

From a crouched position, she jumped at him again. This time, however, her target was higher. Melody slipped underneath his guard, wrapped one of her arms around his neck and reached around to lock her fingers together. Nathan's eyes widened as he realized what she was attempting and tried to free himself, though this was unsuccessful as his legs were knocked out from under him. The moment the two hit the ground, Nathan started to feel short of breath. ' _Shit, a triangle-arm choke? When did she… this is bad,'_ he thought before trying to struggle against her. With his right arm basically unusable, he used his left to punch the girl several times in her side and ribcage. Though she yelped in pain, her grip only seemed to tighten even more. He feebly tried to grab her hair and pull but his strength was draining much faster than he'd have thought. After nearly a minute of resisting, he could feel his face beginning to turn blue and his eyes were struggling to stay open. In a final move of desperation, he dug his claws into her side, ripping through the fabric of her costume. Even this only seemed to make her squeeze harder.

"Give," he finally muttered, using the last of his breath to do so. The moment Melody let him go, she fell backward and sat on the ground, breathing just as heavily as he was. For a second through his blurry vision, there seemed to be a sort of black mist leaking from the redhead's mouth. However, when his breath managed to even out and the black edges of his peripherals returned to normal, it was gone. Then, a massive wave of exhaustion washed over him and he lost the ability to keep his head up. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Ms. Whittaker walking over and declaring Melody the winner.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"I warned you." Nathan scowled, the last thing he wanted to hear after having lost was an 'I told you so' from the irate school nurse. Unfortunately, he was quite literally unable to defend himself. When he'd woken up in the infirmary he'd been fitted with an oxygen mask and forbidden to speak, lest he even further damage his trachea. Then, his costume had been torn away, leaving him lying on the cot face-down in his boxers with Mrs. Holl poking and prodding his back. "It seems like you only further aggravated the herniated disc. I'm almost tempted to leave it to heal normally. It would be a good lesson in learning to respect your limits. I swear, just as stubborn as your father."

"He's always been like that." To further add to his embarrassment, the very person who'd worsened his condition and the absolute last person he'd like to see him in such a compromised position had shown up, seemingly having blown off getting herself looked at to make sure he was okay. "If he isn't a regular in the infirmary I'd be genuinely shocked."

"You're no better, Ms. Halloway. Need I remind you that you've been to my office no less than a dozen times over the past three months?" Melody reddened slightly and turned to look at the curtains. Leena regarded her for a moment, then sighed. "I need to look over Mr. Larson for a few more minutes, so I'll need you to step out. There are still a few of your classmates I'm keeping here if you want to go and see them. And yes, Mr. Mondronen is among them."

"Fine," she said before getting up and walking over to pat her friend on his shoulder. "Next time, after you're all healed up, we'll have an actual fight."

"Why didn't… use new move?"

"Mr. Larson, I told you not to speak!" Ignoring the nurse, Nathan turned his head to look at Melody, who simply shrugged.

"You couldn't use Beast Mimicry, so it didn't seem all that fair. Besides, I was only planning to use it as a last resort. If I'd have used it against you and won, I'm not sure I'd be able to fight in my next match. Basically… you weren't worth the risk," she said tauntingly before turning on her heel disappearing through the pale white curtains. Once she was gone, Nathan rolled his eyes and yelped in pain as Mrs. Holl pressed particularly hard on his lower spine.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Narruk? Can I come in?" Melody asked, knocking on the heavy wooden door though she got no answer. While most students were located in the main infirmary, those with particularly bad injuries or those that had to go through surgery were kept in private rooms along a side hallway. After a short chat with Andi, who wanted to talk more about Melody's win than her own loss, the redhead had tried to find Narruk on her own with no luck. In the end, she had to ask the nurse's assistant Sophia for directions. "Narruk, you there? I'm coming in."

Slightly worried by his lack of response, Melody turned the knob and pushed open the door, only to be greeted by a pitch-black room. As the fluorescent lighting of the hallway flooded in, it illuminated the very end of the bed. Thanks to its distance from the noise of the main infirmary, she was able to hear a slow, slightly frantic breathing coming from the dark. Then, a hoarse but firm voice. "Go away."

"Don't be an idiot. None of this was your fault," Melody replied as she switched on the lights. He looked even worse than she thought he would. His hair was disheveled, it looked as if he hadn't slept despite having only recently woken up from anesthesia, and there were several new, white scars marring his face. As she dragged a chair across the room, she could practically feel the fear and anger rolling off of him. The moment she sat down, Narruk turned away from her to face the wall. "We've been over this Narruk. It isn't your fault."

"I lost control and nearly hurt someone again. Who else's fault could it be?" He spat out. Melody subconsciously tucked away the 'again' part of his statement as she grabbed his shoulder and gently turned him back to face her.

"It's not your fault, it's not Clara's fault, it's no one's fault but Alpha. We got a bit too complacent leading up to the tournament, especially with the full moon being not too long ago. We should've kept up with our training. I had a dream about it actually," Melody said, her face falling slightly when she remembered what had happened after her talk with dream-Narruk. "Regardless, please don't beat yourself up over this. As bad as it sounds, this could actually help us in the long run. Now that you're more familiar with how it feels to lose almost complete control, you know what to look for. We've just gotta get your mental fortitude up."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're too optimistic?" Narruk asked dryly, which Melody ignored and pulled out her bottle of migraine pills. She downed two of them and wrinkled her nose at the taste before refocusing on him.

"After this tournament, you're gonna start playing chess with Oliver, whether either of you likes it not." Just like in her dream, Narruk didn't seem all that thrilled by the idea but that didn't matter. Melody's mind was made up. She _would_ help him overcome Alpha. ' _It's what_ _mom_ _would've done.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Anthony! If you let those garlic knots burn I will stuff you in the oven with them!" Carlyle shouted over his shoulder, receiving a mixture of amused and wary looks from the moderate line formed in front of his stand. The sizeable man ran his fingers through his wiry red hair as he wrote yet another order on his notepad. ' _Perhaps I should have hired some more help. Who knew it would get so bad that I couldn't watch my darling Melly fight in the finals. Bah, nonsense. Anthony just needs to pick up the pace before I shove him out here to deal with these people!'_ He thought. Suddenly, there was a large cheer from the crowd and he glanced over at the large television screen set into the outside wall of the stadium. It seemed as if Melody had just pulled off her sneak attack, judging from the visible red mark on her opponent's face. ' _She's not as fast or as strong as her classmates but she is tricky. Her Quirk calls for her to use the environment to her advantage, something her classmates largely ignore to fire off their strongest attacks at one another.'_

" _Oh-ho! Scarlette Phantom_ _pulls_ _an absolute roundhouse there but it seems like Leo is completely unaffected! Hehehe, this is awesome!"_ Carlyle chuckled at the impassioned cries of Oddball before turning his attention back to the crowd. As he wrote down his fiftieth order of the day, he detected a slight shift in the line. Glancing up, his eyes immediately locked onto the person who'd caused the change and saw a familiar woman with obsidian black hair walking straight towards his stand, completely ignoring the line. The woman was certainly getting a fair share of double-takes from the crowd and even Carlyle would have thought she was attractive if not for the thinly veiled fury in her eyes. She stopped about fifteen feet from the stand and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

"Anthony, watch the stand." The young man nearly dropped the tray he'd just removed from the oven and watched with wide eyes as Carlyle vaulted over the side of the counter and began walking away, leaving him to deal with the twenty or so people waiting in line.

"M-Mr. Halloway, wait!" As much as it pained him to do so, Carlyle ignored his young employee and followed the black-haired woman as she stomped away from the festival and into a more secluded part of the ground, still in sight of the stadium. ' _Good luck, Melly.'_ He came to a stop, keeping quite a bit of distance between the two as the temperature began to rise.

"Lydia. It's been some time."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Sorry for the long wait, had a case of writer's block on this chapter. This damned quarantine is killing my sleep schedule and I've been spending literal days on various games (MW2 Remastered being the key offender. God, I love that game. Even ten years later I'm not fully over 'Loose Ends'. Well, anyway since I'm still unemployed and have a lot of free time I'll try and get off my ass and get these chapters out a bit quicker. Until next time, wash your hands and stay away from people.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 42: Bad Blood**

 **Q &A, Featuring Andi Ena**

 **To Andi: What's the weirdest thing you have heard while tuning the ears?**

 _ **Andi** : Once, I tuned into a police scanner and they were chasing a naked motorcycle thief._

 **To Andi: If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?**

 _ **Andi** : The old philosophical question, huh? Sure, I guess. If not me, someone else has to have a Quirk to hear it._

 **To Andi: Who's your favorite hero?**

 _ **Andi** : Oddball? No, All Might! Wait, maybe Overgrown? Gah! Picking just one is hard!_

 **To Andi: What's your favorite kind of music?**

 _ **Andi** : Some of that techno stuff is kind of cool. Pop's not bad, either._

 **To Andi: Do you get XM too?**

 _ **Andi** : Sure! (Don't tell anyone)_

 **To Andi: What happens if you receive too strong of a signal? Do you get overloaded, burnt out, or what?**

 _ **Andi** : I get nauseous. Sometimes it can hurt my ears, too, if it's loud._

 **To Andi: Also, Bionicles?**

 _ **Andi** : Aww yeah!_

 **To Andi: Can you retract your ear-tennae similar to that of a radio antenna?**

 _ **Andi** : Nah. Don't worry though, they're sturdier than they look._

 **To Andi: How do you deal with the background noise that comes with being a big city? Is your room a Faraday Cage to keep the noise out, or does it not bother you?**

 _ **Andi** : It doesn't bother me much - I'm pretty good at "tuning it all out."_

 **To Andi: Would you want to start a cult revolving around yourself?**

 _ **Andi:** What kind of fraked up question is that?_

 **To Andi: Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?**

 _ **Andi** : Hmm... Learning another language could be useful._

 **To Andi: Have you ever been kicked in the groin?**

 _ **Andi** : Not kicked, but I've rammed it into a chair. It's not like TV - it still hurts if you're a girl!_

 **To Andi: What would you do for a Klondike bar?**

 _ **Andi** : I'd pull a practical joke on Clara._

 **To Andi: What is your ideal type?**

 _ **Andi** : Tough one. I'd say someone fun and interesting._

 **To Andi: Finish the lyric. "wake me up _"**

 _ **Andi** : Scotty._

 **To Andi: Who is best boy?**

 _ **Andi** : Depends. Which one of you dudes will bribe me the most? XD_

 **To Andi: Realistically, can you keep a small child alive for a week, without direct interference?**

 _ **Andi** : ...I guess? I could tune in to a baby monitor or something._

 **To Andi: What was the last song that got stuck in your head?**

 _ **Andi** : Well, the early 21st century had this really bad song known as "Friday..."_

 **To Andi: It's karaoke night. What are you singing?**

 _ **Andi** : The Spider-man theme song._

 **To Andi: Who's your OTP?**

 _ **Andi** : I think Melody and Nathan are really into each other. I should expedite that._

 **To Andi: Who going to drink the bottles of ipecac on the table and go longest without vomiting?**

 _ **Andi** : Maybe Lyon? He might be odd enough to pull that off._

 **To Andi: In a parallel world if you where a villain what would your villain name be?**

 _ **Andi** : NSA._

 **To Andi: Have you had your first kiss yet?**

 _ **Andi** : Nope!_


	43. Chapter 42: Bad Blood

Carlyle saw Lydia Buchanan for the first time was when Harmony brought her to his apartment around the time she was recruited as her sidekick, back when the two of them were just colleagues working to keep each other alive. She had been extraordinarily nervous and wouldn't meet his eye. However, all Harmony could do was talk the girl up, preaching about how much potential she had, which only made the girl more reluctant to speak. After that, they'd met on a few occasions, usually when Harmony came to him for help or information. As the two grew closer, his soon to be wife had told him about her protégé's tendency for violence when provoked. Even Axel, the only one of Harmony's sidekicks who trusted him, had brought up his misgivings towards his senior colleague, likening her fury to that of a cornered animal. It wasn't until their fifth meeting, nearly two years after their first, that Lydia had said more than two words to him.

 _"Why does Teardrop always come to you? Info brokers are no better than Villains."_

He hadn't been able to answer her at the time. It was a question he'd been asking himself for many years. His silence only seemed to fuel her disapproval of him. After that, Lydia's attitude towards him became colder and colder, having adopted the very same look of disgust and loathing that he had become accustomed to getting from other Pro Heroes. It got to the point that she even refused to accompany Harmony when she came to him for help. Harmony had seemed quite off-put by the gradual turn but never tried to confront the girl about it.

It wasn't until years later that he saw the woman in person again, though that was a day he'd much rather forget.

Now, nearly a decade later, it was almost impossible to compare the woman before him to her younger self. She still wore the same rotten look in her eyes, but this woman was broken and angry, a dangerous combination for a Villain. "Lydia. It's been some time."

"I was told not to approach you… I've never disobeyed my master before," Vesuvius said threateningly, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. When she turned and sat on the edge of a large fountain, he could see her whiskey-colored eyes burning with hatred. Carlyle's body tensed up, his mind instinctively screaming at him to run. "Being here, where Teardrop first scouted me, seeing you, seeing the _child_ has brought up so many memories and feelings I thought I'd burned a long time ago."

"If you so much as breathe on Melody, I will personally wring your neck and throw your body in a trash compactor." It appeared as if Carlyle wasn't the only one shocked by his words as Vesuvius took a step back, though she quickly regained her composure. Even with the slightly nostalgic tone of her voice and her fairly relaxed posture, he could see in her eyes just how close she was to snapping.

"I'd love to see a Quirkless old fool such as yourself try," she replied haughtily. Then, to Carlyle's surprise, she smiled softly. "Besides… I _like_ her. I see quite a bit of myself in her, or rather… in who she'll become. She has such a capacity for good; it's too bad her Quirk will bring nothing but despair. It's sad. If she, or anyone else for that matter, were to find out about her true heritage… she'd be a pariah, an outcast. Her career as a Hero would be over before it began."

"Speaking from experience?" Carlyle shot back, silently cursing himself for his inability to hold his tongue. Shockingly, Vesuvius didn't look at all bothered by his jab. She just kept smiling, running one of her hands along the surface of the water, which steamed at her touch. "If you brought me out here to kill me, you'd have done it by now. So then, why?"

"What? Can I not pull aside an old friend to catch up after so many years?" She asked innocently, though the glare she was receiving from her 'old friend' told her that her act wasn't very well received. "My, still no sense of humor. Fine, if you must know, I've come to scout out the students participating in the festival and report back on any irregularities. However, old memories began crawling out of the woodworks the moment I arrived. First, I met your lovely daughter, and then I saw my… well, after that, I met up with dear old Richard, and finally, I saw you, and I _knew_ what I had to do."

"That still leaves the question of why you would approach me when it's clearly against your _master's_ orders, whoever that may be." Vesuvius glanced away, her smiling dropping. Suddenly, the already intense heat that had been emanating from her body seemed to jump into overdrive. It was so potent that it forced Carlyle to take a step back as his clothing and skin began to singe and smoke. When she looked back at him, he saw it. Her face, the same face she wore as she killed the love of his life. The same face that stared back at him in madness, knowing he could only stare back and watch as Harmony's eyes lost their light.

"How could I not? Heh, you're the one who ruined everything. You took my life away from me. How could I not want to see you again? To remind me why I've been doing all of these awful things, why I was so cruelly cast out from society. All these years, you've been so _complacent_ in your little world, raising that monster. I wanted to see the look on your face personally when you realized that everything you've done to protect her is about to come crashing down," Vesuvius spat, a deranged look in her eyes. "Can you imagine how shocked they were when I told them I knew where _his_ granddaughter was? They will come for her, and once her secret gets out, we'll welcome her with open arms!"

"You've gone insane, Lydia."

"I no longer look at the world through a veil. Mankind is _sick_ , Plague intends to cure it and when the dust settles… I'll be free." Vesuvius said softly, once again surprising Carlyle with her immediate shift in tone and, seemingly, personality. Slowly, his hand began to creep behind his back, his narrowed eyes looking wearily at the woman before him. In his head, his mind was reeling over the entire situation, and, as much as he wanted to refute the words against his daughter, he couldn't deny having similar thoughts before. He'd spent many sleepless nights thinking about how the world would react to Melody, whether they'd accept her with open arms or cast her out due to things out of her control. _'Think. Even if she only brought me out here to… talk, she's given away more than Rat could ever hope to find. She's unhinged, but if I could keep her talking…'_

"You think this path will set you free? Even if your master's scheme prevails, there's no escaping your past. I know that better than anyone." He'd let a little sincerity creep into his voice, which appeared to catch the woman off guard. Her brow wrinkled in confusion briefly before her face became overcast.

"Let the past die. That's the only path to peace," the woman said stiffly as if the words were not her own. When she began repeating the phrase 'let the past die' under her breath, Carlyle's hand subconsciously drifted closer and closer to the waistband of his pants, where, hidden beneath his shirt, lay the cold, metal object that had been jabbing into his back all morning. He watched, every muscle in his body tensing, as a single, sizzling drop of magma rolled down the side of her face and fell to the ground, setting a small patch of grass ablaze. Once Vesuvius took a step forward, he ripped his shirt out from his waistband and whipped his arm back around, a small revolver clasped tightly in his hand.

However, he couldn't even manage to cock the gun. In a flash, the air was quite literally ripped from his lungs. The gun fell from his grasp as his hands shot to his throat, which convulsed with every attempted breath. He silently cursed himself for being so focused on his enemy that he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings. Vesuvius flinched slightly at this new development and took another step forward, her hand reaching out but stopped and pulled back as another woman appeared out of the corner of Carlyle's eye. The woman had thick brown hair and walked past him with a look of satisfaction in her cold blue eyes, the flaring of her nostrils indicating that whatever had happened to him did not affect the newcomer. "Ves, you've gone against orders. _Again._ "

 **Negative Pressure**

 **East Division: Rank Two**

"Amy. You're supposed to be watching the juniors," Vesuvius said, eyeing her suspiciously. The woman shrugged, seemingly unaware of the choking man behind her, whose face had begun to turn a faint shade of blue.

"Thought I felt a heatwave. So this is the one then? I must say, he looks absolutely precious all blue in the face," she said, ignoring the weathering glare she received from Vesuvius. With a predatory look in her eyes, she strolled up to Carlyle's kneeling form and reached down to caress his cheek. Quicker than she could anticipate, the man's arm shot up and clamped around her wrist, squeezing tight enough to make her yelp in pain. Despite having been unable to breathe for nearly a full minute now, Amelia saw defiance in his purple face. Even as his grip loosened, he fixed her with a loathing glare. "Interesting. Even with the effect of my Quirk, he still resists. I can see the reason for your obsession, Ves. I would adore having the chance to break his spirit myself. To see that fire go out would be incredible."

"Hands off, Negative. Take his weapon and let him breathe, he's no good to me dead." The ice in Vesuvius' voice was back as she glared at the two of them. Negative Pressure frowned and shot the woman a scalding look before snatching up the revolver and taking a few paces back. As soon as he was able (signaled by Negative snapping her fingers), Carlyle took long, greedy breaths, trying to get some life back into him.

"In any case, we should probably head back there soon. Prophet may throw a hissy fit once he finds out that we left early but your contact can fill in the gaps. Let's go get the rest of the girls…" Negative trailed off when she began walking away while Vesuvius gave no sign of following her. After a moment of silence, the latter's eyes still locked on Carlyle's gasping form, Negative rolled her eyes and continued walking back towards the four coliseums. "Or I'll go get the rest of the girl. Say your piece and meet us back at base."

"Thank you." Vesuvius barely spared her subordinate a glance as the woman vanished around a corner. Throughout the entire time Negative had been present, Carlyle never once saw Vesuvius' eyes look away from him. When she spoke again, her voice was cold and laced with hate. "Everything you've built will burn. Your family, your business, your network, all of it. Then, you might understand what _I_ lost."

He never said a word in response, not when Vesuvius started walking towards him, nor when her heel caught the side of his head, and not when she gave him one last resentful look and disappeared, causing the area's temperature to cool immensely. After several long, breathless moments, Carlyle seemed to come to his senses and pulled out his cellphone. It only rang once before a gruff sounding voice (most likely still annoyed at his son's loss) picked up. "Axel, Lydia was here."

 _"... I'll contact my sister. She should be able to track her movements in the city. Probably a good opportunity to get Rat the hell out of there as well, can't imagine his cover will last much longer. I… your time's almost up Carlyle. You have to tell her. Soon."_

"After the tournament. I don't want to burden her now." While Axel didn't sound exactly pleased by this, he let the matter drop, and the two men exchanged what little information they had before finally hanging up. Even as he walked back to the stand, there was a feeling of dread deep in Carlyle's stomach.

Vesuvius. His constant nightmare. The woman who'd nearly destroyed Hero Society from within. Her betrayal had forever changed so many lives. He knew she was crazy, but he couldn't get her words out of his head. _'She's wrong. Even if the whole world turns their backs on Melly, she won't join them. The target on her back is just going to get bigger, but she has friends that can help her through it all. She will become a Hero.'_

Incredibly, Anthony had not burned down the stand, though, by the sheer mass of needles littering the floor and the black bags under his eyes, Carlyle suspected he'd used his Quirk to keep up with the line. For once, he decided to go easy on the boy and sent him on break. As he fell back into a rhythm, his mind focused on only one thing. Repeating over and over like a broken record. _'Please let me be right.'_

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Electric Misery!" Alexander roared, firing off a short burst of electricity towards his opponent, whose expression hardened as he slipped into the pool of shadow beneath his feet. With a grunt of annoyance, he discharged the spent Core and pulled another from his belt. Just as he'd done for the entire fight, the Shadow user popped back up in a completely different spot, breathing heavily at how much Alex had forced him to use his Quirk. Damien had no idea what had happened to Alexander over the fifteen hours since his last fight, but his fighting style had changed entirely. In his past matches, at least from what Oliver had observed, he was patient and analytical in his attacks. Choosing which Core worked best with each of his enemies. Now, however, he was attacking blindly — slinging attack after attack seemingly no forethought. Fire, lightning, ice, poison, water, they all came randomly with no sense of strategy, no cohesion.

He supposed his foe could just be trying to wear him down, but if that were the case, he could almost guarantee that the Alexander from yesterday would have been using primarily electricity or fire-based Cores to cut down on his shadows. As soon as his opponent began reloading again, Damien thrust his arms forward, and a flurry of black tendrils rose from the ground before shooting at him like arrows. Surprisingly, the boy didn't dodge. Instead, he threw up his arms, and many of the arrows aimed at his upper body bounced harmlessly off of his metal appendages, while his undefended legs and lower torso were sliced right through his costume.

Barely reacting to his new wounds, Alexander raised his arms and shot twin blasts of pressurized water that tore great trenches in the dirt battlefield after passing harmlessly over his enemy's shadow. As his body became engulfed in icy blackness, Damien willed his shadow across the field at a rapid pace until it was just behind Alex, Oliver's advice ringing in his ears.

 _"Close the distance while he reloads, you may suck at close quarters combat, but if you let range dictate the fight, you'll just lose,"_ he'd said a few moments after Oddball's slot machine match decided their match. Now, Damien was starting to see the truth in his former partner's words, even if he hadn't accounted for Alexander's increased brutality.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if Oliver had been right about another thing; he was far too predictable. Right after he emerged from the shadows behind his enemy, Alexander whipped around and swept him off his feet before he could attempt anything. While in mid-air, his body started melting away into shadow just in time to negate another blast of poisonous gas. As he re-emerged several meters away, Damien felt a sharp pain in his chest and swore under his breath. _'I need an opening soon, or I won't have enough energy to Shadow Step_ and _immobilize him. Even if I win, at this rate, I won't be at full strength by the time of my next fight. Wait for him to reload again and get close. It's the only chance I—'_ Damien's thoughts were abruptly cut short as a feminine voice, far too high pitched to be Ms. Whittacker, screamed over the crowd.

"HEY IDIOT!" All at once, the annoyance that had been building in Alexander throughout the fight reached its peak and he whirled to face his equally irate-looking sister. How she'd managed to get past Castor and Pollux and into the preparation room, let alone the tunnel, was beyond him. "GET YOUR HEAD OUTTA YOUR ASS AND TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY! ALEXANDER VICTOR BLACKWOOD DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!"

"In the middle of something," Alexander shot back. This seemingly did nothing to dissuade Eris, however, as she began banging on the iron bars with what looked to be her radius bone.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Where's the badass that took down freakin' Lyon yesterday? When I said to lighten up last night, I did _not_ mean just to be a raging asshole to everyone!" The girl ranted, making her brother grit his teeth and try to focus on reloading his hand cannons. The process was made even more complicated when the black bone came soaring through the air and landed at his feet, which immediately drew a reprimand from Ms. Whittaker for interfering in the match. However, Eris didn't seem to care. "Stop throwing a tantrum and fight like you're in the final eight, you moron!"

 _"Well, this is quite, uh, irregular. Don't worry folks. We'll have this sorted out in a moment,"_ Holl said, immediately followed by a loud sigh from his co-commentator.

 _"Ah, young love."_

 _"When this is over, I'll explain everything wrong with what you just said, but for now, Castor, Pollux, please remove her from the prep tunnel."_ Their teacher sounded absolutely exhausted as he spoke. As if they'd been waiting to be summoned, the school's two caretakers appeared behind Eris and grabbed ahold of her arms. Surprisingly, the girl didn't fight back, instead choosing to glare daggers at her brother before she was finally pulled out of sight. It was only after she was gone that Alexander realized their sibling squabble had an audience, and he fought to keep his face from turning red with embarrassment. He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts from running rampant, and twisted back around to face his opponent, only to be met by an empty field. His gaze flittered across the ground, looking for the telltale black circle that had betrayed Damien's position every time he'd sunken into the shadows.

Suddenly, a violent chill slithered down his spine, and he spun around just as Damien's palm collided with his chest. Still slightly surprised, Alexander reacted quickly and slammed his hand cannon into the side of his foe's face like a club, sending him falling on his back. In the few seconds it took for the boy, now sporting a cut on his cheek, to stand Alexander loaded his cannons and turned them on Damien. For the first time during the fight, he didn't immediately sink into the ground to avoid the attack. As soon as the torrent of flames neared him, the shadow-user leaped to the side. However, he wasn't quite able to avoid the brunt of the fire and cried out as his leg was caught in the blast, setting his pant leg aflame.

Alexander, still wary of Damien's apparent failed sneak attack, reached down to grab another set of Cores from his supply when his adversary, ignoring the fire still licking at his calf, held up one hand and clenched it into a fist. Instantly, Alexander felt his body erupt in icy numbness, his limbs freezing and his breath slowing. His eyes went wide and he pulled against the invisible strings that seemed to be holding his body in place and while Damien appeared to flinch at the struggling, the bonds held fast. _'Not again!'_ his mind was racing, trying to will his arms or legs to move. He tried to open his mouth to shout obscenities but found even his jaw seemed wired shut. "It's done! He can't move."

Alexander tried to refute this, to make some sort of indication to the approaching Ms. Whittaker that he wasn't done, that he could still fight. The woman walked right up to him, examining his baleful stare, and proceeded to poke him in the forehead. Even with the confused din of the crowd, he could hear Damien grunt at the contact. The referee took in his frozen form for another tense moment before she gave him an apologetic look and raised her arm. "Metal Hydra is unable to continue; therefore, the winner of this match and moving on to the semi-finals is Erebus!"

It had happened again, he'd been frozen by his opponent, left immobile. The only difference is that this time he'd left his opponent with enough strength to stand. After his staredown with Andi, he'd lamented the fact that he only won because she had collapsed. Now, the result he'd felt should have happened in his last match had, by random chance, presented itself. He didn't deserve to win his previous match, so why did losing this one make him feel even worse?

 _Purpose of a Hero_

 _"Oh, ~ how exciting! Our next match will be between Elisnore and Rubberband! Competitors, you have ten minutes to prepare, but then I want to see some blood!"_ Sirius glanced up nervously as the ceiling above his head shook violently with the crowd's enthusiasm following Oddball's eccentric announcement. It had only been an hour since Melody had left him alone in the room but in his mind, it felt like an eternity. He _still_ couldn't understand how she'd not only been excited to go up against one of the best in their entire year but had actually _beaten_ him. Now here he was, about to do the same, and he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. From what he'd seen, Payton was just as, if not more powerful than Nathan was, despite their respective rankings, and his Quirk was a near-perfect counter for Epiphany's. Just the thought of his closest (figuratively and literally) friend made his chest hurt. Ever since that morning, she had been uncharacteristically quiet, barely saying anything as Sirius drowned in his nerves.

 _'I know you're there… please, just say something. I can't do this alone,'_ Sirius thought, hating how desperate he sounded even in his mind. There was a quick flicker of… something, an emotion he couldn't quite identify, from the entity, but she remained silent. He let his head fall into his hands and groaned. Then, out of nowhere, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him close. It was a familiar gesture, and though it now had none of the physical warmth, it once did it was still slightly comforting. Epiphany sighed heavily and slung her arm over his shoulder before shooting him an annoyed glare.

"You're pathetic," she said casually as if she were stating a fact rather than insulting him. Sirius couldn't find it in himself to disagree, which only seemed to annoy her even more. "Cut the pity party. You worrying and making yourself sick is making _me_ sick. Now come on, snap out of it. We aren't dead in the water yet."

"We're going up against one of the top five students in our year. It'll be a miracle if we even last five minutes against him," Sirius replied miserably. Even without meeting her eyes, he could tell she wanted him to continue, despite already knowing his each and every thought. "We're obviously the weakest link left. Oliver might be ranked lower than us, but he's smart. If anyone has a chance of beating Clara, it'd be him. Plus, everyone knows our secret by now. 'Just go for Sirius, and you get an easy win'!"

"And what about last round? You were amazing against Kenny, and you didn't even fall on your face for once! We're in the final eight, Sirius. We didn't make it this far on luck."

"No, we made it this far because Clara saved our butts in the first match and had to take on Narruk and his wolf in the next one. Without her, we'd have lost in round one. We're screwed against Payton!" He exclaimed, once again hanging his head and sounding close to tears. At this point, Epiphany smacked her partner on the back of his head and stood up, huffing angrily.

"So what? Who cares if he's stronger than us? In fact, that's a good thing! He's probably thinking the same thing you are. That just means he'll never see us coming!" When her enthusiasm was met with yet another mournful silence and a barrage of self-pitying thoughts, she frowned and sat on the ground right in front of Sirius, so even with his head hung she could look him directly in the eye. When she spoke, her tone was much softer than usual. "Look, _you_ know that _I_ know better than anyone how it is to feel useless, like all the hope in the world is dried up… Sirius, it doesn't matter if we win or lose this. It doesn't matter that Clara saved our asses in the first two rounds, and it doesn't matter what Payton throws at us. Even if we lose, we're going out guns blazing."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Alright, sorry for the wait. We're nearing the end now folks, only 4 more chapters for the tournament. Get excited.**

 **Been a while since I had a long AN (I know most of you don't read them but meh) but I just have to mention the final season of Clone Wars. Everyone who knows me in real life and who is on the discord already knows my opinion but I'm too hyped about it not to say it again. This is the best Star Wars anything since Rogue One. The tension in episode 11 was amazing (music was phenomenal), the duel in 10 was jaw-dropping and 9 was amazing as well.**

 **Also, finally started reading fanfics again after nearly a year of being either too busy or too lazy and there are a few that have me waiting eagerly every week for an update. This also serves to make me feel bad about leaving you all in the dark for multiple weeks. If you're still reading this story and aren't in the discord I would highly recommend joining, it's the best way to get into direct contact with me and it's a fun community. Just shoot me a PM or Email if you're interested.**

 **Huge thanks to Hiatus for beta-ing as per usual.**

 **ALSO: Last chapters Q &A has been changed from Kira to Andi since I already did Kira a while ago and forgot like a moron.**

 **Alright, I think that's enough out of me. I'll try and get another chapter out next week but as my word usually means fuck-all, we'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Next time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 43: The Rise of Sirius**

 **Q &A, Featuring Andrew Abrams**

 **To Andrew: Who is best girl?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _:_ _What do you mean by best girl?_

 **To Andrew: Did you dye your hair or is that natural?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I mean my hair color is brown so... yes it's natural_

 **To Andrew: What's your favorite kind of music?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: anything that is before the 1990s is my favorite, 1990s-2000 I like/tolerate, don't play modern music around me_

 **To Andrew: Which classmates quirk would best compliment your own in a fight?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I'd say either Melody's or Narruk_

 **To Andrew: Any fashion tips?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: Trust me I am the wrong person to ask_

 **To Andrew: Would you start a cult revolving around yourself?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: No, I mean what would even be the point._

 **To Andrew: Are there any hobbies or skills you would like to pick up in your 4 years besides heroics?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I would actually like to know a little more about science because of the nature of my quirk, but other than that not much_

 **To Andrew: What would you do for a Klondike bar?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I mean I don't know because I have never had one, if I did I mean I could just break the vending machine, which I would never do, ever._

 **To Andrew: Are you a D &D fan?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: Yes while I have never been in a campaign I would very much like to be in one, in fact, I have 2 characters made and I am in the middle of my 3rd_

 **To Andrew: technically you're able to surf anywhere, even at a public pool right?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I mean, maybe I don't know I have never even tried to do that maybe? I feel like it would be more than a hassle than it's worth_

 **To Andrew: Can you also decrease the gravity of things? Can you apply negative gravity effects?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: Yes for the first question, and close on the second_

 **To Andrew: Have you ever studied the moon's gravitational pull and how to copy that?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I have actually never even thought of that, it would definitely be something I could experiment with however there is only so much I can do without actually going there, the moon I mean._

 **To Andrew: Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming to me?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer._

 **To Andrew: How do you feel about the Japanese killer stain and his ideals?**

 _ **Andrew**_ _: ...while I don't necessarily think he's wrong... I mean there are tons of heroes who are doing it only for money and fame...but his methods for dealing with corrupt heroes are way too extreme... in my opinion, as long as they aren't doing anything illegal or immoral I think it's fine that heroes who do it for fame and money are left alone... but when that line is crossed something should definitely be done about it... but that something shouldn't be as extreme as outright killing them... I, however, to be fair... I also believe in fates worse than death._


	44. Chapter 43: Rise of Sirius

**Been a while since I last had a note at the top here. This chapter has not been beta'd (for the most part) and is subject to change. If you see any grammatical mistakes don't be afraid to let me know through Review or PM.**

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

Inside the box seats reserved for the defeated contestants of the tournament, Rylee was still mulling over her disappointing loss, which was both in the first round and against the one person she absolutely didn't want to lose to. Her disappointment couldn't be mitigated by the fantastic view of the battlefield or the stacked buffet packed full of delicacies. Though hearing that Oliver's matchup would be Clara gave her a slight sense of satisfaction at first, her dislike for him wasn't so much that she was immune to pitying him in this one specific instance. No one who had spent any amount of time with Clara would want to fight her outright.

Even so, the thought of her recent embarrassments at the hands of Oliver had sent her self-confidence into freefall. When she'd initially gotten her letter, she thought she'd be fine, that the years of experience chasing after, fighting with, and training with her older brothers would finally pay off. Of course, within the first week, she'd been entirely humbled by Narruk and had been on a downward spiral ever since. Then came the festival and she blew it, once again. She tried to push the thoughts away but was mostly unsuccessful.

Right as she was weighing the pros and cons of a lobotomy via plastic spork, Saroya, her former partner, approached her, a look of understanding in her eyes. "Still down, eh?" Despite Rylee's only response being in the form of an annoyed grunt, Saroya seemed to get the message and settled into the seat beside her. "Sorry again about yesterday. I should have realized what that guy was doing when he led us into the light. He sure played us for fools."

"Oliver's… clever. Surprisingly clever," Rylee muttered, pushing her food around idly on her plate. The girls were silent for a brief moment, letting the ambient noise of the crowd below wash over them. Saroya was the first to speak, her tone curious.

"I do wonder how he'll do without Damien acting as his muscle. Especially against such a frightening opponent. Even the cleverest fox can't stand up to a bear." Rylee snorted at the image of a bear with Clara-esc features and glanced toward the two combatants' pictures plastered on the massive jumbotrons stationed around the arena.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he just forfeited off the start. It wouldn't be the first time," she said casually, causing her former teammate to look at her with skepticism.

"Forfeit? Ry, this is the biggest event of the year, there are thousands of people watching, _and_ we only get four shots to make an impression that gets us drafted. There's no way he's just gonna quit like that." Although the mention of how big a stage she'd screwed up on caused a slight pang in her chest, she pushed past it, frowning thoughtfully. While she could understand Saroya's disbelief, there was a nagging feeling in her gut that she was right.

"Last time we went up against each other, before the tournament, I think he would have if Clara hadn't threatened him. I still wouldn't be shocked if he surrendered, but… if anyone can make him fight, it's her." Saroya frowned at her for a moment before shrugging and turning her attention back to her haul from the buffet table. Slightly relieved, Rylee let out a breath and glanced down at the stadium where Oliver and Clara had finally emerged onto the battlefield.

Even from their elevated position, she could see the sagging of his shoulders and the complete lack of energy his posture betrayed. Then, just before the fight began, she noticed someone looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Not too far away, easily within earshot of her and Saroya, Marcus sat between a chattering Andrew and Kira eyeing her appraisingly. She caught his eye, and he nodded at her, something akin to gratefulness in his expression. Suddenly, catching the two of them off guard, an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the arena.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

He had planned to forfeit. Sure, it would have seemed cowardly and probably would've gotten him some grief from his classmates (especially Marcus). Still, when the alternative was fighting the single most loud, obnoxious, and crass individual, he'd ever met who was sure to beat him into a bloody pulp for a few unsavory insults he'd directed her way in the past… forfeiting seemed like the most straightforward answer. That is until the match began, and his attempt at surrendering was drowned out by one of the girl's ear-splitting shrieks. The vibrations of her voice tore up the battlefield, kicking up a cloud of dirt, and slammed into him with the force of a speeding car. He felt, rather than heard, himself let out an uncharacteristic pained cry and reached a hand up to his ringing ears. Before he'd even had the chance to recover, a hand grabbed him by the straps of his tank top and lifted him into the air.

"Trying to give up, are we? You do know my promise of ripping you limb from scrawny limb still stands, right?" Clara growled. Oliver made no effort to struggle against her, glaring down at her reproachfully. His silence only seemed to amuse his opponent, who grinned and shook his body like a ragdoll before tossing him to the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him. "Actually, thinking back on it, you lost us that race, so I already owe you an ass-kicking."

"You have blood on the corner of your mouth. Throat still not healed, I'm guessing?" Oliver shot back, lying complacently on the dirt. Clara scowled and wiped the offending substance off with the back of her hand. Just from a glance, he could tell her mauling at the hands of Narruk (which had been quite enjoyable to watch he had to admit) had left her more battered than she let on. She seemed to be making a concerted effort to control her already ragged breathing and had primarily supported his weight with her right arm when she'd lifted him. "Healers can only do so much, eh?"

"Not like you'd have to worry. The first two rounds must've been a cakewalk for you. You barely even lifted a finger and let that shadow idiot carry you through the first two rounds. I hope that nap in the last round will be worth getting the absolute shit beaten out of you," Clara responded, breathing much more controlled now. For a brief moment, she saw a flicker of something – annoyance or maybe irritation – in his eyes, but he quickly went stone-faced once more. When the boy tried to prop himself up on his elbows and glanced over at Ms. Whittaker, who was looking back at the two of them inquisitively, his opponent proceeded to stomp on his chest and force him back to the ground. While his Quirk allowed him to absorb much of the force behind the strike, the pressure on his chest made it all the more difficult for him to breathe.

"Have you put on weight?" He asked sardonically, his face twisting into a grimace. Although she showed no outward sign of being bothered by his taunt, the pressure building on his chest started increasing incrementally as she put more of her weight into her leg. There was a tense moment where the two of them only glared at one another, even the crowd was quieter, seemingly enthralled by the difference between this fight and the last. At last, Clara sighed and shook her head in mock disappointment.

"You're pathetic. Maybe I should really let you forfeit, gotta rest up for the weather boy afterall. I highly doubt Sirius will slow him down even a little bit. Hard to believe you actually passed the entrance exam over so many other, more worthy candidates. Whoever tested you must've been on something that fucked up their mind. You don't belong here." Oliver's stoic expression broke, and, for the first time, he looked at Clara in anger, which only broadened her grin. His brow creased in concentration, Oliver reached up and grabbed her boot with both hands, trying to apply enough pressure to give himself some much-needed breathing room. Surprisingly, there was a lot more leeway than he'd expected, though he didn't give himself any more space than necessary. _'She's more hurt than I thought.'_ If Clara noticed his movements, she didn't show it. "At least your idiot friend has enough guts to fight his own battles. All you do is run and hide."

With absolutely no warning whatsoever, Oliver's leg lashed upwards, stretching a full foot in length mid-air, and slammed into the back of Clara's head. His opponent now unbalanced; Oliver tightened his grip on her boot and pushed. While she didn't fall, Clara was forced to relinquish her position over him, giving him barely enough time to scramble to his feet and put distance between them. To his annoyance, Oliver noticed that his foe wore a manic grin as she regained her footing.

"Knew that'd give you a spark," she said haughtily. Drawing in a breath and ignoring the sharp sting in her throat, Clara let out a roar that once again tore across the field. This time, however, Oliver was ready and relaxed his body. Though his head was still ringing with the sheer volume of her scream, the vibrations crashed into his body, knocking him back a few feet but otherwise doing seemingly no damage. The very moment the attack ended, Oliver, ignoring the aching of his body, jumped into the dust cloud her voice had whipped up.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

Clara had to give him credit. She'd been expecting to spur him into a fight by insulting his pride, but to have the moron basically nullify her attack, it was a pleasant surprise to be sure. _'Show me you aren't useless, asshole,'_ Clara thought, coughing up blood as she scanned the smokescreen. Her entire body seized up for a moment, and she let out an involuntary gasp. _'Damn you, Narruk.'_ At this point, she was sure there'd be some permanent damage. The scratched and bruises on her back still ached and bled through their stitches, she still didn't have full feeling in one of her arms and her leg could barely hold her weight without shaking. Worst of all, was her throat. Her Quirk had never once been overused to this point, not even during the particularly brutal training her father had begun putting her through over the past year. Granted, his training boiled down to 'get the shit beaten out of you and stand back up or don't eat for the day' and focused more on her physical form than the application of her Quirk. _'As much as the bastard talks about the purity of Quirks, he's barely taught me shit on how to use it.'_

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement and turned towards the far end of the dust cloud. This time, her roar split through the obstruction and nearly hit Ms. Whittaker, but, to her shock, her opponent wasn't there. Lying on the ground, fifteen yards away, was Oliver's red tank top. It only took her a second to realize what had happened, but it was too late.

Oliver burst from the opposite end of the fog, and before she could adequately react, he leaped onto her back and wrapped one arm around her neck and the other around her uninjured arm, while his legs extended to entangle hers. His grip on her throat tightened, and he felt a few drops of blood drip onto his forearm. He then threw all his weight backward, trying to drag the girl to the ground, but to his astonishment, she didn't budge. It was like trying to pull down a tree with his bare hands, a very angry tree with no intention of being felled. One of her hands grabbed a fist full of his hair while the other, seemingly unaffected by his restraining hold, slammed into his thigh repeatedly. Thankfully with the latter, his body's increased elasticity dampened the blows enough to where he only felt a dull pain. Unfortunately, his hair was not as pliable as the rest of his body, and a grunt of pain escaped as Clara's hand twisted.

He knew his hold wouldn't last long. Clara was too experienced a fighter to succumb to his lackluster sneak attack. However, he had expected to put up a little bit more of a struggle. Instead, the moment Clara's body began to vibrate vigorously enough to make his body heat up even more than it already had, he knew it was over. The force of her vibrations created just enough of a gap in his hold. This allowed her to grab and force his arms over her head. The second her upper body was free; she twisted her torso and delivered an elbow to the side of Oliver's head. Unlike the rest of his body, a blow to the head couldn't be as easily dulled, and his vision shook at the force of the strike.

The tide of the battle had turned twice in a matter of seconds. Despite their legs still being intertwined, Clara grabbed her opponent by the neck and, as he'd failed to do earlier, shifted the entirety of her weight, forcing them to the ground. He barely had time to raise his arms defensively before she started raining down blows on him, each one becoming more and more painful as his Quirk's absorption abilities reached their limits. In a last-ditch effort, he unwrapped his legs from hers and stretched them upward, wrapping them around Clara's neck and pulling her off of him. His reprieve didn't last long as the moment she hit the ground, she was moving again, grabbing ahold of his legs and, humiliatingly, tying them into a knot before advancing on him once more. When he tried to force himself up, he was roughly pushed back to the group and held his breath as Clara's foot; this time positioned itself over his throat. "That was smart, using the smokescreen, targeting my weak points. You may have even had me if you actually did some actual training rather than play chess and dick around all day. All that potential is wasted on you."

Oliver scowled, but when Clara saw his arm move ever so slightly, the pressure on his throat became nearly unbearable, making his face turn red as he was deprived of oxygen. He knew she wouldn't _really_ crush his windpipe, and she was starting to really feel her injuries if the strained expression on her face was any indicator, yet she'd proven that Quirk or not, injured or not, outwitted or not, she had beaten him soundly. It surprised him how much shame he felt as he raised his arms and finally did what he'd meant to do at the beginning of the match.

 _Purpose of a Hero_

"Sirius, watch your left!" At the sound of his partner's voice, Sirius dove aside as a flurry of softball-sized hail swept past him. He hit the ground hard but was almost instantly back on his feet. The battle had started about as well as he'd expected. Payton, despite seemingly having issues with the accuracy of his attacks, had been after him from the get-go, pelting him with hail, bolts of lightning (which he thankfully hadn't yet been hit by), and near-constant gale force winds. Out of everything, though, the latter had proven the most difficult to combat, seeing as how he was a hundred pounds soaking wet and was slowed slightly by the awkward and hastily crafted baseball bat in his arms.

"Come on, man! Stop running away!" Payton cried as he dodged an uppercut swing from Epiphany and countered by quite literally blowing her away. Sirius glanced over his shoulder quickly to check on his partner (Even though she could not feel any sort of pain) and nearly got his head taken off by a piece of the wall paneling for his troubles. _'This guy's power is insane! There's no way we can beat him. He's too strong, he knows he has to target me, and Epi can't get a good hit in.'_

"Stop being an idiot and get out of your own head!"

"Easy for you to say!" Sirius shouted back. Payton glanced between the two of them, a look of amusement on his face, and raised one of his hands towards the sky. Thunder boomed, and when the boy brought down his fist dramatically, another bolt of lightning slammed into the earth some distance away.

"Gah! Stupid small arena. Storms shouldn't be contained like this, makes it too hard to control!" Payton complained aloud, hanging his head and glaring at the puddle around his feet. In its reflection, he saw Epiphany's downward swing and just barely managed to dodge. As the redhead tried to advance, Payton clapped his hands together, pointing his index and middle fingers at the girl. The ensuing blast of wind knocked her, again, off her feet and skipping across the dirt battlefield until she slammed into the wall. _'I really hope that keeps her down for a bit. It's weird trying to fight someone who doesn't feel pain,"_ he thought, turning to face his other opponent.

To his surprise, Sirius was already beside him, his weapon already in motion. In his panic, he let loose a completely unrestrained blast of wind that succeeded in throwing Sirius away but came at the cost of losing his footing and being blown back as well. He cartwheeled twice in mid-air before landing face-first in the dirt.

The sound of nearing footsteps told him that Epiphany hadn't been delayed as long as he'd hoped. He glanced up just as a massive wooden spike embedded itself deep in the dirt, not six inches from his face. There were loud thuds all around him as several more spikes joined the first. He was back on his feet as quickly as possible, but Epiphany was quicker. Leaping from spike to spike, she reached him in no time and brought her wooden sword crashing down on his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble back into one of the wooden posts.

The confined field was beginning to get on his nerves. Without the aid of his larger attacks, lest he get caught in the crossfire, he had been continually relying on wind manipulation to beat his foes back. When he again tried to use this on Epiphany, and she was sent crashing into one of the wooden spikes, he finally figured out what the spikes were for. _'Crap! How the heck am I supposed to blow them away now?'_ He wondered, watching warily as Epiphany recovered in an instant and placed one of her hands on the spike she'd hit. With a single wave of her hand, a barrage of splinters nearly skewered Payton as he scrambled behind another spike. He only realized his predicament when the spike erupted into a storm of wood shavings and slammed him into another.

"Now, Epi!" Sirius shouted from outside the maze. Before his opponent could carry out whatever plan they'd hatched, Payton reached to the sky and then brought his arm back down. The sky flashed, and one of the spikes nearest Epiphany exploded with enough force to knock the ghost off her feet. Of course, it was never that simple. He'd ignored the direction Sirius' call had come from and was caught by surprise when the boy snuck up and bashed him in his already injured shoulder. There was a sickening crunch as his entire arm bloomed with pain, and he stumbled back, dodging Sirius' next strike. Both of his opponents were right on top of him before he knew it, and it took every ounce of his training to evade or deflect their attacks.

"Two on one is really where you guys excel, eh?" He said his tone was light despite the situation. He nearly lost his breakfast when Epiphany jabbed the butt of her sword into his gut and knocked him back a few more paces. His jovial attitude was starting to wear thin. He'd not stopped losing ground since the fight began, mostly due to his opponent's unbelievable teamwork. "Guess _Clara_ was the one holding _you_ guys back."

"You better believe it, weather boy!"

"Why does everyone _have_ to call me that?" Oddly, it was Sirius that delivered the blow that finally slipped his defenses and knocked him off his feet. A strike to his chest that was shockingly powerful, coming from the small boy. As he fell, he lashed out with a kick and managed to knock the boy's bat from his hands. It was almost as if nothing changed once he hit the ground. Sure he was on his back and only had one attacker to defend from, but other than that, he was still very much on the retreat.

Once his back hit another spike, he ducked under Epiphany's next swing and grabbed her wrist with his left arm while uppercutting her with his right. The girl's head snapped back, but, as usual, she recovered in an instant, driving her knee into his chin. The blow made him see stars, and it made his grip loose enough for his foe to free herself. Before she could take advantage of this, however, he swept her feet out from under her. As she fell, he rose and blocked Sirius' clumsy punch before pushing him away and glancing over his shoulder, looking for the end of Epiphany's forest of spikes. It wasn't far, just ten more meters, and he'd be out of their clutches for the time being.

"Woah!" He exclaimed as Epiphany flew at him again. _'Not this time!'_ As he backpedaled, Payton reached back with both hands and closed his eyes in concentration. In a few seconds, a massive ball of swirling dirt behind him kicked up by the accumulation of wind. "Gale Force Cannon!"

"Epi!" Sirius cried as his partner was flung backward at such high velocity that she crashed through several of her own wooden spikes before finally smashing into the wall of the arena. _'It's a_ really _good thing you can't feel pain,'_ he thought frantically, though she did not reply if she heard him – which she always did. Picking up her fallen sword, he rushed at Payton and swung with all of his might. The sword struck home, and his opponent hard in his side, knocking him back.

If nothing else, Sirius had surprised himself during this fight. He'd taken a more active role, and it had paid dividends. Granted, he had a few more bumps and bruises than usual, but he'd _actually_ managed to put up a fight against Payton, one of the best in their year. Not to mention, their opponent was slowing down. They weren't precisely winning, but it wasn't the embarrassing defeat he'd thought it would be. Brimming with newfound confidence, he charged again but was sent flying by Payton.

"Man, I was _not_ expecting this much of a workout! Gotta give you props, Sirius. However, since I don't wanna get my butt kicked by Damien or Melody, I'm sad to say it's over!" Payton called, reaching one hand up into the sky. Sirius knew what this meant and glanced up at the dark clouds above the arena, though something didn't feel right. 'Payton's _lightning strikes have been inaccurate the whole match. He must have something up his sleeve if he's so confident. That's fine. No matter what it is, I_ can _dodge it. Bonnie and Clyde aren't done yet!'_

Thunder rumbled overhead. Payton's face shifted to one of apprehension and uncertainty but quickly settled back into a confident smile. Lightning flashed, but to Sirius' surprise, the bolt struck Payton's aloft arm, sending tendrils of electricity streaming over the boy's body, making him grimace. _'He's channeling it. I have to move!'_ He thought frantically as his opponent grunted and raised his other arm to point directly at Sirius. The second before the attack came, he darted to the side, hoping that the bolt would pass by him.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Right as he took his first step, his foot caught on a small depression in the dirt. Then came the pain. Both Sirius and Epiphany screamed as electricity coursed through the former's body. The attack only lasted a few milliseconds, and the pair collapsed, unmoving.

On the other end of the field, Payton couldn't even hear the announcement of his victory over his own labored breathing. His costume crackled as the electrical conduits sewn throughout it burst and sizzled. "I always… hate that move."

 _ **Purpose of a Hero**_

 **Hey… been a while. We're nearing the end of this arc and hopefully once we get past it I feel less burnt out.**

 **In the time since I last saw you all, I binged both Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra (both for the first time) over the course of three days, so that was fun.**

 **Uh, like I said above this chapter is not beta'd yet. It may be later on and I will let you guys know if I do any significant rewrites or changes but in the meantime, we're pressing forward.**

 **Next Time on the Purpose of a Hero:**

 **Chapter 44: Semi-Final Showdown!**

 **No Q &A this time. **


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